


Where On Earth Have You Been, Lucien?

by roobirdtx79



Category: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-08-25 16:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 245,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16664176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roobirdtx79/pseuds/roobirdtx79
Summary: This story is set after Jean and Lucien were married on March 25, 1961.  It is early December 1964.  Lucien has been missing over two years. Characters are from The Doctor Blake Mysteries series, Family Portrait telemovie, the soon to be released Blake Mysteries: Ghost Stories as well as my story entitled “Return to Ballarat” posted on Archive of Our Own.





	1. Discovery

Chapter 1 Discovery

Friday evening, December 4, 1964. Dr. James Cornelius was serving as one of the A&E physicians at the Military Hospital in Melbourne. It was unusually hot and sticky for this early in the summer. He really did not want to spend the night dealing with emergencies. He could hear the fans cheering at the Stadium for an Australian Football League match between the St. Kilda Saints and the Collingwood Pies. He wished he was there, yelling like all of the other fans, but was left with listening on the wireless, when he was not busy. And this night, he rarely had time to listen. 

His shift would be over at 8 AM Saturday morning and he was meeting Danny Parks and Charlie Davis, both detectives with the Melbourne police, for breakfast. Last week, colleagues of Danny and Charlie told them about two men – a guy wearing a slouch hat and his mate with a beard - were seen in Melbourne, once again. It was nearly two years since this duo were last spotted around the Military Hospital and the Oriental Medicine shop. So far, no patrol officers had determined where they were staying, had talked with them – they were proving to be as elusive as they were before.

Danny had discovered yet another area where men were sleeping rough in Melbourne. So, James was going to join both Charlie and Danny and they were going to dress down, walk that area. Something told the three of them, that if they just kept diligent, observant, asking questions, perhaps, maybe, someone who knew the whereabouts of Lucien Blake would be rounded up in one of their sweeps or in their wildest, craziest dreams, even Lucien himself. At least it was something they could do – it was better than thinking the worst. None of them would admit defeat, even though it had been over two years since their friend and colleague, Major Lucien Blake, had vanished. And the new report of the two men – well, James thought – it energized the three of them. Perhaps the bearded guy was Lucien? But who was the other guy? Why was he with him? 

Matthew Lawson, Chief Superintendent of Ballarat Police, talked to the three of them numerous times about this ‘need’ or more likely an ‘obsession’ of theirs to keep looking for Lucien. Matthew reminded them of the length of time Lucien was missing, that his disappearance was now considered a ‘cold case,’ that Danny and Charlie needed to concentrate on their work as Melbourne police department detectives and James on his patients and the POW grant at the hospital. Danny had always replied, “Matthew, I have my Auntie Jean’s predisposition for stubbornness and you know I will not stop searching, no matter how long it takes to find Lucien.” “What about the two of you?” Matthew would ask Charlie and James. “When Danny stays we stop, we stop, not before that Matthew, you know that, right?” they always answered. Instead of telling the three of them they were being foolish, wasting their time, he simply said, “Thank you for keeping the search going. Watch each other’s backs, right? None of you – what I mean – well, just be careful.” 

Since Lucien’s disappearance, James was in Ballarat once a week to see Lucien’s POW patients. He always rode the train from Melbourne, saw patients Monday afternoon into early evening, ate dinner with Matthew, Alice, Rose and Jean, and stayed overnight in the Blake household. After dinner, Matthew and he had spent many an hour in the sunroom discussing Lucien’s disappearance, how Matthew was analyzing the evidence, and Matthew’s leg injury. James knew that Matthew decided many months ago, if he were more physically able, he would be on the streets with the trio. 

One evening, Matthew described his conversation with Lucien about ‘why we do what we do.’ Matthew told James, “We do what we do because it is the right thing, it is our job, and each person deserves the best that we can do to help them.” James remembered telling Matthew, “that is why I do what I do, as well. Being a police officer and a physician are similar. If Lucien showed up on my A&E doorstep, I would do everything I could to help him.” 

Other times Matthew talked with James about how he ‘failed’ Lucien. He was still struggling with Lucien’s disappearance and his inability to crack the case. James recalled that Matthew explained his feeling of failure: “Just before Jean and Lucien’s wedding, I told Lucien I would do anything for him, and I meant it. And I have failed, miserably. Where is Lucien Blake, my friend and colleague? I just can’t break this case and that is so bloody frustrating.”

James was pulled back to reality by the blare of sirens. An ambo was on the way in, he would need to be alert and attend to the incoming patient. Many times, Friday nights meant drunks, drugs, knives and guns, but add in the very warm temperatures and high humidity, dehydration and heat stroke – well, James thought, there could be quite a variety of issues to attend to. 

The ambulance parked and the attendants pulled out a stretcher with a male, probably in his 50’s, very unkempt, long hair and beard, been sleeping rough, had not cleaned up in quite a while, but no alcohol smell, left knee very swollen and propped up on a ruck sack, no external bleeding, unconscious – probably over heated, dehydrated, and could use several days here to get back on his feet, get his knee evaluated. Undoubtedly, a veteran, certainly would need some assistance after his release from hospital. 

Ambos told him the man was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning back on the building for ‘Jean’s Toys,’ just a couple of blocks from the hospital. He had the ruck sack under his injured knee. Yelled at them when they moved him onto the stretcher. Said his bloody knee hurt like hell. Then he passed out. No one else was around him. They replaced the ruck sack under his knee when they had him on the stretcher.

They rolled the patient into the treatment room and the nurses had him undressed very quickly, put his clothing and boots in a bag. They found no wallet, no identification, no watch or rings. James wondered, ‘Who are you? How did you get yourself in this predicament?’ They placed the bag of clothing on the side bench next to the ruck sack. They knew someone would need to go through both of them to try and figure out who this person was.

James elevated his left knee and packed it in cold compresses to help with the swelling. They began using cloths soaked in basins of cool water to clean him up and put cold compresses on his forehead, neck, armpits and groin to help cool him down. James started a saline drip and started to examine him. He had the nurses get an initial EKG, draw bloods, call radiology, get basic vital signs. He asked the man what his name was, what happened to him, but received no reply, not even a mumbled response. Clearly, he was out of it. 

Methodically and carefully, James went through his physical examination checklist, second nature to him now from years of being a physician. It did not matter that he did not know the patient's name - anyone who entered A&E deserved his full attention and assistance. The patient had several issues, beyond the knee, that James needed to address. His notes were getting extensive and he had not even completed his physical exam. Then, he reached a point where he was ready to check the patient’s back for injuries. He had the nurses help turn the patient on his side. Then he observed from shoulders to bum a back that was terribly scarred from multiple beatings – “Oh my God.” “What, Dr. Cornelius?” the nurses asked. James barked out very quickly, “Call Dr. Hugh Alexander and Dr. Joseph McCann, now. Have them come here immediately. Call Dr. Richard McCoy and I need to talk to him on the telephone right away. Also call Detectives Danny Parks and Charlie Davis and ask them to come. You have all of the numbers, right?” “Yes, sir, we do.” 

Looking at his patient, James put his hand on the man’s shoulder and began thinking. Catch your breath, James. Oh my, well yes, um to my mind, this is the back of my Major, Jean’s Lucien. That back needed substantial attention, in reality Jean’s application of large quantities of the Blake lotion. James wanted Hugh and Joseph to help him provide both medical and emotional support for their Major during the night. Um, James thought, I need emotional support as well, to be truthful. My hands are still shaking, my heart racing. Charlie and Danny could start on the ruck sack and bag of clothing as well as the ambo report to see what clues were contained in them. Must talk to Richard as soon as possible. He could talk me through possible head injuries, maybe drug testing. Something was not right with Lucien, it just wasn’t, but what? – I cannot put my finger on it – just yet.

The nurses had connected with Richard and handed James the telephone. After nearly ten minutes of conversation with Richard, James said, “Richard, alright, if you really think I need to get a security detail for the room, I will. When are you coming to A&E?” James hung up the telephone and asked them to call and get two security guards for the room. “I will explain later what is going on, but now I need to get back to our patient,” James told them. 

The security team of two arrived first. James told them who to expect and not to let anyone else in the room. “Keep an eye on anyone lurking around the door, hallway, get their names, descriptions. I just do not know what could happen. Be alert. Have your weapons ready to use – if needed,” James told the two.

Hugh and Joseph arrived within 20 minutes. They both must have been at hospital already. “What is going on?” they asked the security detail. “Dr. Cornelius called us. He is expecting you both.” They walked in and saw James attending to the patient, adding more cool cloths to his head and neck, examining his left knee which was so swollen, packing the knee in additional cold compresses. James was trying to talk with him, and as Joseph and Hugh approached the bed – he was moaning, mumbling, somewhat agitated, opening and closing his hands, not making any sense. 

“We are here, James. What is going on in the hallway? Who is this person? I deliver babies, remember?” Joseph asked. “Come here you two and help me sit him up.” As soon as they both saw the scars, “Is that Major Blake?” they asked almost in unison. James said, “I think so. What do you two think?” Joseph said very quickly, “You know the best one to identify him is Jean. We need to call her, no let’s call Matthew and let him get Jean down here as soon as possible.” 

Joseph reached for the patient’s right hand, held it, started talking softly to him, placed his hand on his forehead and then on his shoulder. Lucien settled down, almost immediately, even turned his head towards Joseph’s voice. Little did Joseph know, that he would hold that hand for the next few hours. Each time he released it, Lucien became agitated and anxious, even tried to get off the bed a couple of times.

“James, update us on his condition. What are you thinking?” Hugh asked him. James told them, “The patient, well it is Lucien in my mind, is responding to the IV fluids, but had not said anything that makes sense, yet. Vitals are stabilizing, EKG is normal, pulled bloods, probable head injury, checking for tropical diseases, toxins, drugs. Now the drugs. I just talked to Richard about him having a head injury, being drugged, coming off of drugs – my gut feeling is something strange is going on. I know that is not an evidence-based diagnosis. I have IVs going, catheter collecting urine, keeping samples in the freezer for testing later. Richard and I figure if he is on anything, the highest drug concentrations will be right now. Had radiology here already for his knee, skull, and chest x-ray. Still working through my physical exam list.” Hugh said, “I will start with his feet and work up and you continue from the head down. I will look for injection marks, punctures, injuries, rashes, insect bites from sleeping rough, as well as the usual items.”

“So why the guards? Do you think he may bolt? Seems so out of it now,” Joseph asked James. James answered, “Not so much that as someone coming in here and taking him. Richard brought this idea up – he is wondering if Lucien was being drugged, and the drug combination may be less potent, so some of his memories are surfacing – for instance, he was found leaning against a building near here – ‘Jean’s Toys’ – what is it, two blocks? – if that much away from the hospital? He has been here dozens of times with Jean. You know, he was nearly back to the hospital. Nearly at the A&E doorstep. It may be a long shot, but –“ Hugh jumped into the conversation with his ideas, “So let me work through this potential scenario – if the drug concentration is lower – he is coming down from the brew of drugs, and some memories are trying to surface? And of course, Jean would be right up there at the top for him, wouldn’t she? So James, why didn’t he just go to Ballarat, to his home, to Jean? Why is he here in Melbourne? Is it a combination of a head injury and drugs?” “Hugh, I don’t have an answer for you,” James told him. 

Joseph began thinking out loud, “Drug concentrations are lower – because he is not taking them? Is he self-medicating for the head injury? Someone else is not giving them to him? He or they ran out of them? Someone can’t get to him? He has escaped from whom? What are you thinking here, James? And throw in a head injury – my goodness, just what are you and Richard thinking? James, this seems way out there to me.” James, sighed, and said, “We need to know if he has a head injury. And, if he is on any drugs. That will be the first couple of steps. Richard is working with an independent lab to do the testing first thing this morning. I am keeping duplicate samples frozen for him. I will get the report back from radiology on his skull images later this morning. Basic labs are being done to monitor his electrolyte levels, complete blood count, sugar level, kidney function, liver function – the usual items.” Hugh asked, “Do you think he is in withdrawal?” “Maybe. I just don’t know, can’t answer the question. There are so many unanswered questions right now, it is making my head hurt,” James told them. 

Hugh suggested, “Let’s keep him under light sedation so he is not apprehensive about where he is, about what is going on. Don’t want him to move around too much. We can’t go too fast with him, frighten him. What in the world do you think happened to Lucien? How long has he been missing?” James said, “Maybe two years, yes a little over two years if I remember correctly. Oh, my goodness, Jean, Jean, we need to be very careful with her, support her, help her as well as the Major. I will call Matthew right now. Wait, not now, it is only 2 AM, way too early.”

The three former comrades continued to take care of their Major, keeping cool cloths on him, talking to him, holding his hand – it was all too similar to their time in camp when Lucien needed attention after his beatings and time spent in the pit. It was also frightening – where was he psychologically? would he even know them? know Jean? They needed to return the help he had given them, on so many different occasions – keep him alive, centered, wanting to survive – and then to figure out his medical condition and plot a treatment strategy.

About 2:15 AM, Danny and Charlie arrived. The security team alerted James to their presence. James came out and motioned them inside the room. “We got your message James. What is going on? Do you know how early this is? And what is with the security detail?” Charlie asked. Hugh looked at the two of them and said, “Come here and look at this man. Joseph helped Hugh set the patient up, the detectives looked at his back and gasped, “Is that Lucien Blake?” “That’s why we called you. He had a ruck sack with him. We thought you two should see it and decide how to proceed. Right now, he is dehydrated, not aware of his surroundings. The three of us are going to stay with him until we get him stable. As you can see, his left knee is nearly double the size it should be. I am admitting him to hospital,” James told Charlie and Danny. 

Hugh updated them on Richard’s thinking and why the security detail was in place. Danny called and got an additional police security detail to protect Lucien’s room and the POW wing. They would all be in place when they moved him later in the morning. They went to the side of the room and started looking through the ruck sack and clothing. “James, the ruck sack belongs to a Col. L. R. Blake. Lucien? Where has he been? Doing what? Why?” Danny asked him. Charlie, followed up, “We need to get pictures of him in this state. We can walk the city, looking for where the men are sleeping rough, see if anyone recognizes him, when he might have shown up, who he was with. I will call and get a police photographer here immediately. Do you have the ambo report on where he was found?” James replied, “Yes, I do. Here it is Charlie.”

As he went through the ruck sack, Danny found a bottle of ear drops. “Hugh, look at this.” Hugh walked over, took it from him and said, “James, have you checked his ears yet?” “Yes, I did, and he has an active fungal infection or something similar to that in both of them. I took samples and sent them to the lab already.” “Appears he is putting drops into his ears. Bottle was in his ruck sack. You know that might help us place him in a particular area, maybe a country. I will call the lab and put a rush on it. Also, the drops are labeled in Chinese. It is half full. Maybe he got them here in Melbourne? Well, that would be a long shot, wouldn’t it? Remember that Oriental Medicine shop we visited years ago with Lucien and Jean? I will talk with the owner. We will need to get a translator to help me.” Danny told them, “We have a translator that helps us. I will talk to him this morning. He will be in touch.”

Charlie started looking through the bag of clothing. He found nothing that identified the patient, all tags were removed from both the shirt and trousers. He went through the boots carefully, and realized that both of the insoles had been removed previously and under each was an envelope with money as well as one had a sheet of paper with telephone numbers listed. One of the numbers was the Blake household in Ballarat. Another was the Ballarat police station. Yes, the evidence was growing that this person was indeed Lucien Blake.

Joseph looked at the Major’s left knee which was quite swollen. “This is the one that had surgery decades ago, rugby, right?” he asked them. Hugh answered, “Yes, that is the one. You have a good memory on that – he told us years ago. He may have fallen, continued walking on it, did not have any crutches, made it worse. We need to line up an ortho consultant to look at it with us. Let’s get his knee wrapped, chilled down, keep it elevated to help with the swelling. I will call Gus Wilson and ask him to come this morning.”

“Did you check his lower right leg for the bullet wound? His left wrist for the scar to repair his broken wrist?” Joseph asked. “Joseph, how did you remember those?” Hugh asked. “I have seen both of the scars when Mattie and I were at the beach with Lucien and Jean.” James looked for the two healed wounds, “Yes, they are both there. Seems we definitely have the Major before us, doesn’t it?” 

“How much do we tell Jean at this time?” Hugh asked. “I honestly don’t know,” James answered, shaking his head from side to side. Lucien was here, in front of them, needing their help. This was real. This was now. They had all discussed the possibility of finding him, what they would do when they did, but not in his wildest dreams did James expect it to happen on _his_ watch in A&E. If Lucien was delivered to any other hospital in Melbourne, any other day – James just shuttered at the thought. Hugh saw James shiver and begin to tear up. He walked up to James and hugged him. “James, James, you did recognize our Major, you called us, and now we are going to help him, all of us are going to help. He will come back, I know he will.” “But Hugh, he has been through so much in camp, was beaten nearly to death, almost starved to death, still struggling from all of that, is there –” James said to Joseph and Hugh. “Lucien has Jean to come back to now, and I know, given time, he will come back to her, and to all of us. He must and he will,” Joseph told them.


	2. Lucien's Disappearance

Chapter 2 Lucien’s Disappearance

Jean remembered very clearly that Lucien disappeared on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 1962 – it started out as a typical day for the Blake household. Jean did morning surgery hours with Lucien, they had lunch together, Lucien worked with Matthew Lawson and Bill Hobart on finalizing the details of a case, Alice Harvey was helping her decide on what type of birthday party and presents to buy for Little Blake, Mattie and Joseph’s soon to be two-year-old son, and Jean fixed dinner for the four of them. Dinner hour came and went, but no Lucien. 

About 9 PM, Matthew began to worry and called the station and asked if anyone knew where Lucien was. No one had seen him since 4 PM when he said he was going home. Matthew called the hospital, no luck either. Bill volunteered to drive around Ballarat to see if his car was parked near the Club, the hospital, Lake Wendouree, anywhere he could think that the Doc haunted at times. No sign of Lucien was discovered. 

Matthew, Jean, and Alice got in Matthew’s police cruiser and started driving around as well. They spotted Rose Anderson, Matthew’s niece at the Ballarat _Courier_ and asked her if she had seen Lucien in the last few hours. “No, Uncle Matthew I have not. What is going on?” Rose asked. “Rose, he missed dinner, we can’t find him. The last time he missed dinner, he was nearly killed. I am getting very concerned. If you see him, tell him we are looking for him,” Jean told Rose, with a tremor in her voice. “I will tell our delivery folks to keep an eye out for his car. They will deliver the paper in a couple of hours,” Rose told Matthew. “Rose, any news, call the police station, alright?”

Rose had a good idea to tell the rural delivery drivers to be on the lookout for Lucien. A call to the police station came in about 3 AM. Matthew and Bill drove to the location. There was Lucien’s tan Holden, parked along the side of the road. His hat, medical bag which also contained his wallet and wedding ring, his overcoat, a bouquet of flowers, and car and house keys were all still in the car. He was nowhere to be found. At first light, the entire police force was out walking the road, the nearby fields, looking for footprints around his car, tyre tracks, interviewing anyone they could find. Only Lucien’s fingerprints were on the car, both inside and outside. Absolutely nothing was discovered. It was as if Lucien Blake had vanished. 

Jean looked through his wallet and found no clues to help any of them. She took his wedding ring, kissed it, added a gold chain to it and put it around her neck. Now, he would always be close to her heart. She knew he was coming back, and she would put the ring back on his finger, herself. She also decided to keep everything like it was in their bedroom, in the house – no changes. The life they created together was very important, very special to both of them. He was lucky to have survived WWII and Jean was so fortunate to have been at the Blake household when he came storming back to Ballarat. And even more importantly, Jean thought – was to be a slow decision maker. She could have easily left the employment of Thomas Blake and not discovered the intense love that she and Lucien shared. Now, once again she would be a slow decision maker. Everything stayed as it was this day. She told herself, no matter how hard it will be to see his clothing, smell his clothing, see the piles of journals and books he was reading, work in his Surgery – everything is going to remain – just the way it is now. He will be back, he is mine and I am his. We are one. I will wait for him. 

Alice called Joseph and Mattie and told them what had happened. Before the day was over, the Melbourne contingent were all on their way to Ballarat to help look for Lucien and to attend to Jean. Richard, Mattie and almost two-year-old Blake stayed with her while James, Hugh, Joseph, Danny, Charlie, Rose and members of the Group Sessions joined the search parties. There continued to be no news, and they all tried to turn it into ‘No News is Good News.’ But that scenario began to wear very thin, very quickly. 

Matthew issued a missing person report, Rose ran a lead story in the paper, and police in surrounding towns and cities were alerted. But no sightings, nothing. Rose continued to question her delivery drivers, all of the families who lived nearby, talked to Lucien’s Group Session participants who lived in the area where the car was found, left her business cards with dozens of people. No calls, not a bit of new information surfaced. 

Following dinner a couple of days after Lucien disappeared, Alice suggested to a nearly full table of Blake household friends, “We need to take care of Lucien’s patients. They are knocking on the door, calling for appointments. I will cover his surgery hours in the interim, until he returns. What are we going to do about the POW grant patients?” “Alice, Hugh and I have discussed that. We will cover those patients. Hugh on Wednesday and I will be here on Monday. Hours from 2-6,” James told everyone. “I will continue to come on Tuesday for individual appointments and group session, just like I am doing now,” Richard added. Joseph, looking at Jean and Mattie, “I will be here on Thursday evening for the second group session of the week.” Rose added, “Jean, what if I help with the Thursday afternoon group session you have for the ladies?” “Yes, please do Rose – I need to talk to them, I know they will help me. Thank you,” Jean replied.

Jean looked at all of them and said, “I am still the grant administrator and I will be in Melbourne on my Friday schedule and Alice will come with me the last Friday of the month. I assume there will be some patients who cannot come on a Monday or Wednesday and I think you will take care of them, right Alice?” Alice replied quickly, “Of course, if James and Hugh agree.” “Agreed. We must continue this POW grant, it is important to Lucien and to all of us,” James said. 

Matthew, looking at Alice, “Let me put my needs on the table then. I must have an interim Police Surgeon. Alice, will you?” “Yes, Matthew, of course.” Jean looked at Matthew and Alice, reaching for their hands, “And I want you, Alice, to join Matthew and me in this big house, will you?” “Of course, I will, Jean,” as they continued to hold Jean’s hands.

Richard walked over to Jean and put his arms around her. “Jean, we are all here to help you in any way we can, any time of day or night. First item is your neck. I know Lucien helped you with it, and I imagine it is quite an angry affair by now.” Joseph stood up and said, “Jean’s neck – that will be my job.” He walked over to her, barely touched it and she said, “Joseph, we need to do something tonight. Perhaps you and Mattie can help me.” 

Matthew, Charlie and Danny went through all of the old files where Lucien had sent someone to prison, where that person was now, trying to find a lead. Nothing of subsance developed. Charlie and Danny alerted their colleagues at the Melbourne police department about Lucien’s disappearance. There were a couple of possible leads, two men, one with a beard, the other with a slouch hat, seen together near the military hospital and the Oriental Medicine Shop. But those two proved to be very elusive to find.

As hard as it was, life had to resume at the Blake household. Alice moved into a bedroom near the surgery office. Matthew remained in his room close to the front door. Jean stayed in the art studio that she and Lucien had redesigned. Matthew’s niece, Rose was offered a bedroom upstairs but had a lease on a flat for the next six months. She would move in later. The extra bedrooms were used by the Melbourne crew when they came to cover Lucien’s patients. One room was reserved for Joseph, Mattie and Little Blake.

A couple of months after Lucien disappeared, there was laughter at the Blake house – A birthday party for Blake who was turning two years old. He loved being with his Auntie Jean and all of the other adults who doted on him. Everyone there gave him a book, all carefully selected by Alice, who then assigned the purchase to each person for the birthday boy. Mattie read to him every day and when they visited Lucien and Jean, Lucien would read to him, then add in made-up silly stories to get Blake to laugh and giggle. “Momma, I want Uncle Lucien,” Blake told his mother, echoing what everyone else wanted as well. 

When Blake finally went to sleep that evening, Jean, Joseph and Mattie were sitting in the sunroom, talking, drinking tea. Jean, looking at the two of them, asked, “I am just going to say this to the both of you, with no warning – Is Blake going to have a sister or brother in a few months?” “Jean, how did you know? We have not told anyone yet. We are so happy. Joseph is still trying to figure out how it happened!” Mattie said, with a smile. “Mattie, I am a physician, I know how this all happens – I just don’t know when we had – well, you know, we have both been so busy, never much time for just the two of us. We want a little girl, a sister for Blake,” Joseph said. “Do you have a name selected yet, Mattie?” Jean asked her. “Yes, her name will be Jenny, short for Genevieve. Jean, so much happened in this house, meeting you and then Lucien, falling in love with Joseph, getting married in the back yard – we want to have our children named for the good times here. We hope by the time Jenny is here, Lucien will be back to help us take care of her the way he helped us with Blake.” “What if you have another boy?” Jean asked. Joseph quickly told her, “Jean, we are having a girl.”

Life continued for Jean and the Blake household. Her Thursday afternoon group session members took it upon themselves to bring a casserole with them each week so Jean had one day less a week to think about a meal. She had decided with all the grant work she was involved with, she would cook one day a week, and freeze the meals. Everyone in the household knew how to warm up a casserole or leftovers, even Matthew and Alice. The ladies also started cleaning the Blake house for Jean on the two Friday’s a month when she was in Melbourne. The men in Richard and Joseph’s group sessions took over the maintenance of the Blake house and also began fixing up Jean’s Place. When Jean’s washing machine quit, a new one was delivered and installed while she was in Melbourne. They even did the laundry for her. If Jean started to say something about doing so much for her, she was told – the Blake household works together to help each other, to make the day easier – remember Jean? We are all a part of the extended Blake household. We will help you. 

On Monday January 21, 1963, James held his POW clinic at the Blake Surgery. He was sharing the space with Alice, who was seeing Lucien’s patients. Jean was helping both of them, keeping up with the bookwork, and assisting as they needed. James had finished with his last person, asked Jean if there were any more people to see. Jean looked at him, said, “No, James, that appears to be all of your POW patients, got the paperwork completed, new appointments made. But, um, ah James, would you see one more, a walk-in, right now?” “Yes, Jean, of course. Who is it?” as he asked her the question, he looked at her, saw she was very pale, trying to find a chair to sit in, getting somewhat disoriented. 

“Alice, need you in Surgery right now, please.” Alice entered the room quickly and found James steadying Jean, feeling her pulse, talking to her. “Jean, tell me what is happening. Here, let me help you on the examination table,” James told her as he picked her up, carried her to the exam table and then placed her carefully on it. Alice assisted him and they had Jean stretched out on the exam table, running an EKG, taking her blood pressure, propping her up on a pillow so she could breathe easier. “James, I, I um, something happened. My heart started racing, then, then it seemed to stop and now I am up here. What, what is happening to me?” 

James looked at Alice, “Has Jean ever had something similar happen? Any cardiac episodes before?” “James, this is all new territory for Jean. Nothing in her previous history with Lucien,” Alice told him. “Jean, what about with another physician, like Dr. King?” Alice asked her. “No, never had anything like this before. It really scared me. What is going on?” Jean asked her two physician friends. “In reality, Jean, I don’t think we can answer you. I could tell you it is the stress of Lucien being gone, but that has been ongoing for several months. We were not that busy today, you have handled more patients for us without any difficulty. Don’t like to tell you we don’t know, but at this point, that is where we are. You are doing well now. You let me know if you feel this way again. Agreed?” Alice told Jean, putting her hand on Jean’s shoulder, while James put his hand on her forehead. “Thank you both. I think I will sit in the living room for a while, put my feet up, try to unwind some,” Jean told them. “Good idea, Jean. I will walk you in there, get you situated,” James told her.

James settled on the couch next to Jean, held her hand, and started talking with her. “Jean, is it alright if I tell Hugh about this episode? He will want to check on you on Wednesday when he is here, talk with Alice about your symptoms.” “James, of course you can tell Hugh, even Richard and Joseph, if that makes sense,” Jean told him. James continued, “Thank you for asking me for help, Jean. Lucien told me how you get pretty stubborn at times and I am glad that was not the case tonight. You need to be truthful – so all of us can keep an eye on you. Alright?” Jean looked at Alice and James and told them, “Yes, I will let you know how I feel. Thank you for helping me calm down.” 

“Jean, what if I put yesterday’s leftovers in the oven and heated them up for dinner? Would that be alright with both of you?” Alice asked. “Yes, that is what I was going to do. We can eat in half an hour or so. I will be fine by then, right?” Jean asked them both. “That’s what we think,” Alice told her, taking her hand and holding it. 

Danny and Charlie told Matthew the sightings in Melbourne of the bearded guy and the guy with the slouch hat stopped about a week before Australia Day. Then, the months went by, with no sightings, no contact, no phone calls, no letters. Charlie, Danny, and James continued searching in Melbourne, working with their police contacts statewide and then countrywide, but no new information was discovered. Matthew and Rose continued pursuing leads in Ballarat, but they were unsuccessful in figuring out a line of evidence that led anywhere that made any sense. 

At different times, each of the Blake extended familymembers sunk into the depths of depression, then slowly emerged with the help of their friends. Richard kept a very close eye on Jean’s mental wellbeing, talking with her several times a week, keeping her centered. Jean had no further cardiac episodes and Alice, James and Hugh kept a close watch on her physical wellbeing. The Melbourne contingent looked on this time as similar to the time in camp, helping Lucien. They knew what they must do and were all focused on assisting each other. They all became an extended Blake household member, helping each other, trying to make each day easier than it would have been.

A bit of happiness for the Blake household was the arrival of Jenny McCann on March 25, 1963. A beautiful little girl, resembled Mattie, and started off loud and noisy and stayed that way for several months. Both Mattie and Joseph looked like they had not slept an entire night in weeks, and they hadn’t. Many weekends were spent in Ballarat with Jean who delighted in reading to Blake and playing with Jenny and letting Mattie and Joseph have some down time. Even Rose, Alice and Matthew were happy to entertain the McCann children.

About a year after Lucien disappeared, when Jean was in Melbourne for one of the monthly meetings, James started with an announcement. “Our first publication about our grant is in my hands, right now. Congratulations to all of you. May there be many more.” James distributed a copy of the paper to each one present. Jean looked at the title and the authors, J. Cornelius, H. Alexander, L. R. Blake, R. McCoy, and J. R. B. Blake. Lucien was the third author – she had argued for his name to be included. Then there was her name, her name – J. R. B. Blake as fifth author. “James, you did not tell me this. When did you decide this?” “Jean, you earned it. Your ideas and input were extremely important. Your skill at organizing our renewal proposal is why we are still up and running the clinic. You deserve to be an author of our paper.”

There were sporadic reports of two men, one always bearded, one with a slouch hat, but now they were not in Melbourne but in Southeast Asia. Matthew had asked returning military men to talk to him, and dozens did, in Ballarat and by mail from friends who told them to let the Police in Ballarat know about those two fellows. Matthew tried his best to piece the information into a coherent pattern, to find his friend, but he could not. He talked at length with James, Charlie, Danny, and Rose about how to look at the information with different lenses, approaches, and they simply could not figure out where Lucien could be. 

Jean and James had several discussions about Matthew’s struggles with Lucien’s disappearance. The truth was, he could not crack the case, not yet, and he was showing signs of stress and depression. They talked to Richard at length about how to approach Matthew, how to help him. On one of his Tuesday visits to Ballarat, Richard sat Matthew down and asked him how he could help. Reluctantly, Matthew told Richard yes he would talk to him, but just this once. With that first conversation, Richard and Matthew began a friendship based initially on helping Matthew, about finding Lucien, but later, their friendship became very important to the two of them and as well as to Alice.


	3. Joseph and Lucien

Chapter 3 Joseph and Lucien 

Joseph looked at James and then at Lucien and said, “James, let’s order a private room for him, in the POW wing. We must get Carol Flannery and Diane Reed assigned to special duty for him. We have worked with them before and they are excellent in working with POWs. Once he is stable, of course we need to do a complete work up. Beyond taking the lead on the drug testing, Richard will be important in his recovery – his skill in working with POWs will be very important. Let’s hope he remembers him. We don’t even know if he knows us yet, do we? Some dental work as well, lower molar.” 

James was writing down all of the ideas that Joseph suggested. “Joseph, all good ideas and duly recorded in his record. I am so glad you and Hugh were in hospital last night and could help me. What if he did not come to our A&E? This hospital? Tonight? One of us was not on shift? Who would have recognized him?” James said, still trying to get a handle on his emotions, his feelings for his Major. “But James, he did show up when you were on duty and you knew he was the Major. Don’t run the other options out – you don’t need to any longer,” Joseph told him, putting his hand on his shoulder. 

After the police photographer took several pictures of the unconscious Lucien, Joseph transferred his hand holding duties to Hugh. Joseph got some scissors and a basin. Both Hugh and James looked at him with a quizzical look. “I am going to straighten up his beard. He never has it this long and straggly. Now his hair, well, that is beyond me. It is so curly and matted we will need to help him wash it and get a barber to give him a proper haircut,” Joseph told them. Hugh, snapped his fingers and said, “One of my patients, Clark, is a barber, has a shop near here, but drat, it is Saturday and he will be closed. I will call him later this morning and ask him to bring his gear and help us. Clark is another POW from our camp.” 

“Hugh, what do you think of his beard now?” “Good job, Joseph. Here, you need to take his hand. Look at him – he is getting fairly agitated again. Joseph, you have the touch for some reason.” Joseph took Lucien’s hand, he grabbed onto it very tightly, turned his head towards Joseph’s voice, and settled down very quickly. James and Hugh shook their heads at Joseph. “Listen you two, I don’t really understand why he wants my hand, exclusively, but if it keeps him quiet, decreases his blood pressure, I will sit here all night with him. Get me a glass of water and a newspaper and I will read to him. And you two can take care of his medical needs,” Joseph told them. 

“Joseph, what are you going to tell him when he figures out his beard is shorter?” Hugh asked, grinning at him. “Um, well, I guess Hugh, I will bluff my way through something when the time comes. I did not think about that before I started trimming it, shaping it up. Can’t be changed now, can it?” Joseph told Hugh and James. “You know, Joseph, you are just pathetic at bluffing, don’t you?” Hugh asked him, with a grin on his face, starting to chuckle as well. “I know, Hugh. You didn’t need to remind me,” Joseph told him. Both James and Hugh laughed at him. “Thanks for the comedy relief, Joseph. Well, this is the first time we have had a chance to catch our breath since Lucien showed up in this room,” James told him. “My pleasure, James and Hugh,” Joseph told them with a grin on his face.

Before Lucien was alert, Richard McCoy had joined them in the A&E. He wanted to pick up Lucien’s initial samples and deliver them to an independent lab for testing. One of Richard’s friends owned the lab and Richard had asked for a huge favor – at 3 AM no less – and would be forever grateful to him. The question that Richard was debating with himself – Are James and I totally off base? Or are we on to something? Should have some answers later today, he hoped. They both needed some data to show Alice. She was a stickler for evidence-based conclusions. Also he needed more insight into a possible head injury. Was it a recent injury or an old one? How to factor it into Lucien’s condition now? Need to see the films this morning and talk with Alice about that as well.

Joseph asked Richard, “When Lucien wakes up, how should we address him? Do we just tell him who he is? Let him tell us? If he can’t recall his name, will that make him more anxious? What do we do?” At Richard’s suggestion, they decided not to use Lucien’s name. They were certain the patient was Lucien Blake, but Richard wanted to see if he could tell them who he was – once Jean was at hospital. Joseph was going to take the lead in interacting with Lucien until Jean arrived. After all, for some reason, he was the only one to keep Lucien calm and quiet since he arrived in A&E. 

About 6:15, Lucien began to stir. He opened his eyes, closed them again, tried to focus his eyes on Joseph, and finally, after several false starts, he seemed to be somewhat alert. He was still gripping Joseph’s hand when Hugh noted on the chart that it was about 6:30 Saturday morning, Dec. 5, 1964.

Lucien began to look around the room, gasped, groaned, put a hand to his chest, and then whatever was going on seemed to pass. “What just happened? Vitals, now,” Hugh called out. James checked his blood pressure, listened to his chest, checked his pupils, felt his pulse. “James, what do you think? Drug withdrawal issues? Let’s get another EKG right now,” Joseph said. “Well, we all saw something happen, right? Yes, something did. Note it in the chart, Hugh. He seems stable at this point,” James told the group.

A few minutes later Lucien again made eye contact with Joseph. “Good Morning. I am Joseph. I happened to be in A&E when you were brought in, and I stayed to help you. I usually deliver babies but not last night. We are about ready to move you to your own room. I will help you take a shower, wash your hair, get you some food. Sound alright?” “Um, yes it does Joseph. Joseph, when you were with me last night, did I have bad nightmares, scream at you, hit you, anything like that?” “No nightmares. But you were really restless, agitated at first, but we held hands most of the night and you were pretty calm after that,” Joseph told him. “Your voice, yes, yes, you did talk to me as well, didn’t you?” Lucien said, looking at Joseph, smiling at him. “Yes, I did. Even read you the newspaper. You seemed to like the funny pages best of all,” Joseph told him, even chuckling a bit. “Really?” “Yes, indeed.”

Lucien, touching his beard, realizing it was shorter, much shorter, not matted, looked at Joseph. “Joseph, my beard, it is trimmed, much shorter, when did that happen?” Joseph began, “I did it while you were sleeping. Your beard was really too long, too straggly, a bit matted. Ah, It looked bad. Um, It really did. And ah I think it is much better now. Yes, that’s right.” “How did you know how I wear it?” Lucien queried Joseph. “Um, well, just decided how I might ah want to wear a beard, um if I had one. Uh, It looks ah pretty good to me now,” Joseph told him, as he stumbled through his explanation. “Thank you ever so much,” Lucien told him. Joseph thought to himself, that was a close call. Maybe I trimmed his beard too quickly. Well, that can’t be changed now. I needed to bluff my way through my explanation. I am not very good at doing that sort of thing; as a matter of fact, I am just terrible at doing that. Hugh even told me I was pathetic. Lucien knows that about me as well, but seems like he does not know who I am, or he would have said something, would have teased me about it, as he had done so many times in the past. 

“My knee hurts like the devil. What is wrong with it?” Hugh walked up to him, “Good Morning. I am Hugh. We think you fell down, injured the knee, walked on it for several days. It is really quite swollen. Once you get cleaned up, we will give you some stronger pain medication. We don’t want you getting dizzy in the shower. Joseph and I will stay with you this morning.” James walked up to him, “Good morning. I am James.” Richard looked at him and said, “Richard.” “Did all of you help me last night?” “Yes, we did.” “Thank you ever so much.” Lucien stared at the four of them, looking at each of them very carefully, but apparently not recognizing any of them. They could see his eyes moving from one to the other, and then looking at them again, again, and still no recognition. They were so ready to tell him who they were, who he was, but they could not, they had agreed not to do that. And it was harder than any of them had imagined.

“What just happened to me? It felt like my heart was racing, missed a beat, like I had um ah um like – I don’t know – “ Lucien asked. “We checked your heart and it is normal rhythm. We will continue to monitor you. Tell us if you feel that way again,” James told Lucien, putting his hand on Lucien’s shoulder. “Yes, I will. It scared me, can’t recall it happening before,” Lucien told James, as he touched James with his free hand, looking into his eyes.

“Um, Where am I?” “In Melbourne, in hospital, you were brought in last night, unconscious, overheated,” James told him. “In Melbourne? Why?” Lucien asked. “That is a mystery we will need to help you figure out,” Richard told him. “Can I have some water? Still really thirsty.” Richard handed Lucien a container of water, and he drank it down fairly quickly. “I will set up another IV once we have him cleaned up,” Hugh told James. 

Hugh walked up to the side of the bed. “Before we leave for your room, we need to remove the catheter and get a urine sample. Now that you are awake, I think you will be able to ‘go’ on your own. Just hold still for me and let me remove it for you, alright?” Hugh told him. “Ah, um yes, um do it carefully, but quickly, please,” Lucien said, with growing anxiety. “Of course, I will,” Hugh smiled at him, “Is there any other way?” 

Joseph looked at Lucien, held his hands tightly, blocked his view of Hugh, and told him, “Look at me. Look right here. Hugh is a talented doctor, he really is. Well, for that matter, James and Richard are too. You are in excellent hands. Just try to be still for us.” Richard and James held his legs steady so he would not move around. True to his words, Hugh was careful and removed the catheter quickly. “All done, and now we are ready to move you upstairs,” Hugh told him. “Yes. Thank you Hugh.” “You bet,” Hugh said as he touched Lucien’s shoulder and smiled at him. Lucien gazed back into Hugh’s eyes. Hugh could tell he was trying to figure out who he was – but was not able to access that memory, make any connections, yet.

Lucien posed an interesting question to the four of them, “Ah, can I ask a question? Why do I have four physicians? Who is in charge?” James looked at his friends and colleagues and said, “I think I am. You were assigned to me when you were brought into A&E. However, you will see a great deal of us – all four of us – over your stay in hospital.” “That’s fine with me.”

Joseph and Hugh began the transfer of Lucien from A&E to a private room, with a two-way window, in the POW wing. An aide pushed the gurney, Joseph walked next to Lucien, holding his hand during the transfer, and Hugh walked on the other side of Lucien. He was quiet, not terribly anxious with Joseph at his side. The security detail was ahead and behind them. If Lucien noticed the extra people, he said nothing.

After the group left, James joined Richard in a small consultation room. They wrote down what to tell Matthew, so he could help Jean prepare to see Lucien for the first time. They wanted Jean to see if it truly was Lucien before she went into the room. They updated the patient record as well, got the orders lined up for the staff, and left a telephone message for Aaron Gage – they wanted him to come and look at Lucien’s ears that afternoon. 

With his voice cracking, James said, “Richard, Lucien, um Lucien – he has no clue who we are, does he? Absolutely no idea.” “Not yet. Give him time, James. He will dig himself out of this, after all he is _our_ Major,” Richard said, as he tried to comfort his friend, placed a hand on James’ shoulder. As James wiped away some tears, he told Richard, “Yes, he is our Major. I must not forget that.”

“Um, Richard, I need to talk some more,” James told him. “Alright, where do you want the conversation to start, James?” Richard asked. “In your professional opinion, and I know these are really early hours, what do you think? expect to happen?” “Well, James, I think we need to confirm drug levels and head injury for a start. I know I want Alice involved with us in plotting a course for Lucien. I know he has been gone over two years, and we have to be thinking in terms of many months of recovery, not weeks. I imagine he will have medical issues we have not discovered yet. I have a strong feeling that Joseph is going to play a key role in his recovery. Lucien could have taken to any one of us last night, right? He knows all of our voices. Why did he focus on Joseph – his need to hold his hand? To hear his voice? Lucien calmed down immediately when he heard Joseph, felt his hand near his. We need to take advantage of this connection – even after Jean is here. She cannot carry the load with Lucien’s recovery, she just shouldn’t,” Richard said, taking a deep breath, wiping some tears from his eyes. James walked up to him and hugged him, nothing needed to be said between the two colleagues and friends. 

The POW wing was isolated, the security detail that Danny had lined up was in place, and Carol and two male attendants were waiting for them. As Hugh and Joseph helped Lucien sit on the edge of the hospital bed, he kept his eyes on Joseph. “Joseph, you are not leaving me, are you?” “No, No, I am not. I want to help you take a shower, wash your hair, but I need to find something for me to wear in the shower with you. You do want me to help you clean up, right?” “Yes, um it has been days since I had a shower, maybe longer. How are we going to do this, Joseph?” 

“Good Morning. I am Carol and I will be here for the next 12 hours to take care of you. First of all, I will wrap the IV tubes so you do not accidently pull them out. Hugh, will you will find us a big container of shampoo and some sleeping shorts? Then, Joseph and I will get you in the shower.” “Thank you, Carol,” Lucien told her. They helped Lucien up, steadied him, placed him in a wheelchair, rolled him to the shower entrance, then helped him use crutches to walk into the shower, and got him situated on the bench in the shower. “Joseph, where are you?” Lucien called out. “I am right here, changing into some shorts so I can help you.” Carol told him, “It is alright. Joseph is just about ready to help you. He is right next door changing clothes.”

The two attendants entered the room with shampoo, two bars of soap, several towels, a pair of sleeping shorts and said, “Dr. McCann, we will do this, you do not need to get in the shower with him.” “No! NO! Joseph is going to help me. You two are dismissed, now!” Lucien said with the authority of a commanding officer. Joseph looked at Lucien, who had a smile on his face, and thought to himself, ‘Well, Yes, Sir, Major Blake.’ 

Once Joseph got the water adjusted, Lucien grinned and told him, “I have not had a shower like this in, in –” “Does it feel good to you?” “Yes, but Joseph, I am not certain what to do. Do I just sit here?” “Here’s some soap, you can wash your arms and chest, and I will work on your legs and feet. I will be very careful with your knee,” Joseph explained to him. Lucien understood Joseph’s request, could follow his orders, just didn’t seem to be able to initiate what to do next on his own. Joseph was wondering – is this just dehydration, head injury, drug withdrawal, or perhaps a combination of all of them or maybe something else entirely? Got to ask Richard about this when I see him. This is not the Lucien I know. How could he function like this? Was he like this the entire time he was gone?

Once they had finished with the soap, Joseph got the shampoo bottle out and started on Lucien’s hair and beard. The suds died very quickly, so he added some more shampoo. Lucien laughed at Joseph and said, “How did my hair get so long, so dirty, do you think?” “Long, because you have not had it cut in weeks, I would suppose. Dirty, because you have not had a chance to take a shower and wash it like we are doing now. But I think I have put way too much shampoo on it. Going to take a while to get it washed out of your hair.” As Joseph rinsed his hair, he gently washed his back as well. “Joseph, that really feels good. My back itches most of the time. I need something to put on it.” “Yes, I agree. I will ask Hugh or James to order some lotion from the pharmacy for you. We will start this morning putting lotion on it several times a day. Should make a difference fairly quickly,” Joseph told him. “Oh, Joseph, this feels so good, I could sit here for hours. Forgot what a long shower –” 

Joseph finally gave up trying to get the shampoo out of Lucien’s hair and turned the water off. “Here is a towel, start drying your chest and arms. I will dry your back, legs and feet. Then we will start on your hair and beard.” “Joseph, why can’t I remember what to do in the shower?” “Well, I think you have gotten dehydrated, haven’t been eating very well. You should feel better in a couple of days. I imagine you will be able to do a lot more yourself by then,” Joseph told Lucien, trying to keep his explanation simple, not give him more information than necessary to satisfy his curiosity. 

Once Joseph had Lucien in the shower, Carol walked the two aides out of the room and they were accompanied out of the area by the security detail. Carol returned to the room and began thinking to herself – Just who is this person? I know Dr. Cornelius asked for both Diane and me to be on special duty but why? What on earth is going on? Why is Dr. McCann helping the patient take a shower? After all, he is not an aide, but a physician and never sees patients on the POW wing – no one on this wing is pregnant. There were three security personnel, two at the door to the unit, and one stayed in the room, all of them had weapons. I will talk to Joseph and Hugh when we get the patient settled.


	4. Melbourne Bound

Chapter 4 Melbourne bound 

Jean knew that Matthew needed to go to the Police Station early on Saturday morning. He had two tasks: to finalize a case that he and Constable Peter Crowe were working on, and then of course, to wrap up the ongoing paperwork that was a constant drain on his time. She was frying some bacon, preparing the eggs, made some tea and toast, and as she was finishing up, Jean heard Matthew’s familiar cane cadence in the hallway. She heard Alice walking right behind him and then Rose coming down the stairs. “You lot, it is only 6 AM on a Saturday and we are all up. Probably no other household in Ballarat is this on the ball for a weekend morning,” Jean told the trio as they sat down at the table. “Jean’s kitchen smells very good this morning to me,” Matthew said. “Thank you Jean. Otherwise I just eat junk at the station and my wife reminds me every day – ‘Don’t eat that, Matthew,’” – as he reached over to Alice and gave her a kiss. 

After a year of marriage, both Alice and Matthew were comfortable showing their affection for each other, holding each other in the presence of Jean and Rose. They had fought the decision, each in their own way, and finally ‘saw the light,’ as Richard had told them. They were married in a simple, quiet ceremony in the Blake backyard, with Richard as the Best Man and Jean as the Matron of Honor. A few Ballarat friends, as well as the Melbourne contingent, were in attendance.

Jean was sitting at the table, drinking her tea, and commenting on a story that Rose had written for the morning edition of the _Courier_. She paused in mid-sentence, looked strangely towards Alice, swallowed haltingly, and just stared into the distance. “Rose, my bag from the office, quickly, please.” “Yes, Alice, on my way.” “Jean, Jean, can you hear me? Look at me, now.” Jean came out of the fog that had descended on her without warning and saw Alice looking at her, felt Alice taking her pulse. Rose returned with the medical bag and Alice was checking her blood pressure, listening to her chest, then her neck arteries. “Jean, talk to me.” “Alice, I had the strangest feeling, like my heart skipped a beat, and and -- It was like I felt when Lucien disappeared so many months ago. I am feeling better now, I am. Oh my, I scared myself.” “Jean, what do you think it did to me? Too early in the morning for this, my dear friend,” Alice told her, as she touched Jean’s shoulder. “Let’s walk to the Surgery and get an EKG for you. I want to make certain that your heart is back in normal rhythm. Rose, walk with us, please.” 

After checking Jean over, Alice told her, “Jean, nothing I can put my finger on right now. I just read James and my notes from January 1963 and this episode is very similar to that one. I will check you again this evening, and you tell me if you feel like this again.” “Yes, Alice I will be truthful with you, I promise.” “Jean, I will talk to James on Monday when he is here and see if he has any additional ideas about what is going on with you, alright?” “Yes, Alice, of course, that is fine with me.” 

Matthew was dressed and out the door about 7:30. Rose was leaving as well to put the wrap on her story for the Sunday paper. So, Alice and Jean returned to sitting in the kitchen, drinking another cup of tea, back to reading the _Courier_ and chatting. “Jean, what are you going to do this morning?” Alice asked. “I have the third paper, on the group sessions, that I need to do the final editing on. I want to present it on Friday at the grant meeting in Melbourne. Got everything in my satchel to work on it. I am really quite pleased at all of the specific details we recorded when the group session was initiated here in Ballarat,” Jean told her. “What about you?” Alice, laughed, then said, “Patient records, what else to do on a Saturday morning, Jean?” “Well, Alice, you could have a body to autopsy, right?” “Of course. You know, Ballarat has been very quiet this week, and that is good, in my opinion. Let’s Matthew get caught up. Then after lunch, we are going to take some of the food and drink items up to the cabin for Blake’s surprise party tomorrow, right Jean?” “Yes, that sounds good to me. I have a casserole unthawing to heat up for this evening’s meal, so we do not have to get back too early. I am looking forward to spending some time at the cabin this afternoon. Today is supposed to be quite pleasant and I intend to enjoy it,” Jean told Alice.

At 8 AM, Dr. James Cornelius placed a telephone call to Matthew Lawson at the Police Station in Ballarat. “This is Dr. James Cornelius of the Military Hospital in Melbourne calling for Matthew Lawson.” “Yes sir, I will get the boss for you. He is here this morning.” “Yes, Lawson, here. How can I help you James?” Matthew asked, surprised of the early call from James. He knew that Danny, James and Charlie were going to walk another area this morning, but they should be just getting started. 

“Matthew, Matthew, are you sitting down?” The tone to James’ voice told Matthew something was going on, but what? “Yes, James, of course I am.” “Matthew, Um, I think Lucien is here in hospital, I really do.” “James, what did you just say?” “Matthew, let me explain – a male in his 50’s was brought to A&E last night about midnight, found on the street near here, living rough from the way he looked, admitted due to dehydration. In my examination of him – especially his back, I think it may be Lucien. Hugh and Joseph are with him now. He is awake and we have him on IV fluids. His back needs a lot of work. Left knee is injured, quite swollen. Bring Jean as soon as you can. We need her to confirm his identity. He is stable and alive but beyond that I just don’t know much more. We will take care of him, you know that.”

“During the entire time that Lucien has been missing, Danny, Charlie and you were spot on – being observant, keep looking, keep asking questions, being stubborn about this need to search. And James, it paid off, it paid off last night. I am, I am –” Matthew could not finish his sentence. “Matthew, you don’t have to say any more to me. We are all feeling the same way. And you know the hardest part right now is not telling him who we are. Waiting for him to put some of the pieces together. We are hoping both you and Alice can help us and help Lucien,” James told him. “James, do _you_ think this person is Lucien?” “Matthew, we need to hear from him who he is. I don’t want to give him Lucien’s identity without any evidence. We need Jean to help us.”

“On my way, James. Thank you. Oh, one other thing James, call Danny Parks and Charlie Davis. Get them involved in helping us figure out what happened to Lucien.” “Already done, Matthew. They are working on it as we speak,” James replied to Matthew. “Tell them I want to see them when I am there this morning,” Matthew stated. “Also, Matthew, there was a ruck sack with him, some clothing, and I have the ambo report on where he was found,” James replied. Sensing that Matthew was feeling the need to get on the road towards Melbourne, he told him, “Drive Safely. I will meet you at the A&E entrance. Radio ahead so I know when to be there.” “Will do James.”

Matthew asked his Constable to drive to the Blake household and keep both Jean and Alice there until he arrived and to tell them we are going to Melbourne this morning. He knew that Jean and Alice were going to take some extra food and drink for the weekend to Jean’s Place, just did not know when. The Melbourne contingent was coming up for Sunday’s surprise birthday party for Little Blake, who would soon be four years old. Lucien had missed a couple of Blake’s birthday parties and that little namesake of his reminded all of them – frequently and loudly – he missed his Uncle.

Jean and Alice heard a car drive up and park in the drive. A very urgent knock on the door sent Jean to answer it. “Yes, how can I help you constable?” “Mrs. Blake, you cannot leave.“ Seeing Alice, he quickly said, “Dr. Harvey, you cannot leave either. Boss is on his way. You are both going with him to Melbourne this morning. Don’t know any more. He will be here soon. Mrs. Blake, you need to pack several days of clothing and whatever else you might need.”

About 30 minutes later, Matthew arrived at the Blake household, stepped from the car and Jean was immediately out the front door of the house, followed by Alice. “Matthew, what? Is it Lucien? What do you know? Tell me - now.” “Jean, it _may_ be Lucien. We need to leave for Melbourne as soon as you are ready. James called and he has a patient in A&E that _might_ be him. He is stable, his left knee is injured, his back needs a great deal of attention. Joseph and Hugh are there as well taking care of him. He does not know if Lucien recognizes them. James has talked with Richard, Danny and Charlie as well. Get your travel bag, be certain to take a picture of the two of you. Alice, what else does she need to take? We need to go as quickly as we can.” 

“Jean, pack some clothing for Lucien as well. A dressing gown, PJs, underwear, socks, shirts, trousers, shorts, belt, shoes, toiletry items, what else?” Alice suggested. The two of them quickly packed everything up for him. “Alice, what if it isn’t him?” “We bring you and the bags back to Ballarat and wait,” Alice told Jean, hoping that was not the case. The constable placed the bags into the boot of the car.

“Matthew, we are ready to go,” Alice said. “No, not yet, wait a minute.” Then she quickly turned around, went back into the house and picked up Jean and Lucien’s wedding picture, Jean’s satchel of grant materials she was working on, got her medical bag, unplugged the kettle, left a note for Rose, locked the door, and headed to the car. “Matthew, want me to drive?” “No, Alice, I have arranged for a constable to drive us, with an escort all the way to Melbourne. This way I can talk to you both about what we might encounter at the hospital.”

A police escort joined them once they exited the Blake driveway and accompanied them out of Ballarat. Many townspeople saw the caravan of three cars, sirens blaring, lights flashing, and saw that Jean was in the second car. The rumors started at that point – Maybe Lucien was found? Alive? Dead? No one knew. Once they were outside of Ballarat, the sirens were silenced. The trip to Melbourne was double quick, with traffic cleared all the way to the hospital, different police departments leading the way, one giving way to the next one. 

Matthew began talking to Alice and Jean, “Richard thinks we should not call him by ‘Lucien’ yet – he needs to self-identify first. James told me that the patient’s back is very scarred. He has intense blue eyes, salt and pepper beard and curly sandy brown and grey hair. Joseph has trimmed his beard so it is more respectable looking, and his hair, well, a barber will be there this afternoon. It is very long, much longer than Lucien ever had it. The patient is awake, talking to Joseph who is taking the lead at this point.”

“Joseph connected with him early this morning, kept him quiet, held his hand, talked and read to him. He becomes quite agitated when he can’t hold Joseph’s hand. Alice – you and I are going to try and establish who he is. He does not seem to have any idea who James, Hugh, Joseph or Richard are – beyond physicians who are helping him, caring for him. Jean – Richard, James and probably Hugh will be with you. Danny and Charlie will talk with us this morning as well. I don’t think he has volunteered any information about who he is, why he left, where he has been, what he was doing, why he is in Melbourne, why he did not come back to Ballart. We are all going to have to help unpack this for him,” Matthew concluded telling them all that he knew about the situation. He reached over to Jean and Alice and held their hands, smiled at them. “Let’s hope it is Lucien. We have all missed him, in so many different ways, haven’t we?” Matthew asked them.

As they drove up to the hospital, the constable turned off the flashing lights and the car with Alice, Matthew and Jean pulled into the A&E entrance. The three of them quickly got out. James and Richard met them and walked them to a private room. Danny and Charlie were there already, and each gave Jean a hug and a kiss. “Jean, we are here for you. Here are our telephone numbers. You need anything, you call us, day or night. Matthew we will talk with you later,” Charlie told Jean. “Auntie Jean, is it alright if Charlie and I stay and listen to this conversation?” Danny asked. “Of course it is, Danny,” Jean told him.

James sat down to talk to them. “Good morning – it has been a long night, with an unexpected discovery, and well, I continue to struggle with um – Matthew, you got here quickly, thank you. Alright, Matthew, Alice and Jean, here is our plan. Any suggestions, just tell us. Joseph is with the patient now. They have bonded, most of the night Joseph held his hand, talked to him. Since he has been awake, he stays fairly calm if Joseph is in the room. Let him always have eye contact with Joseph, let him hold his hand. We are pretty certain he does not know who Joseph is. In reality, we don’t think he remembers that all of us were in the POW camp together. But these are truly early hours.” 

“Alice, I want you to talk to the patient first – well, we think it is Lucien. I will just call him that for now. Matthew, I want you in the room as well. Tease out what you can – about who he is, what his name is, whatever he will tell you. Don’t tell him anything. He needs to tell you what he knows or what he thinks he knows, even if it is confused. Don’t push him too hard on anything. If he can’t answer, change directions and circle back to the question later. We are hoping you two, not a part of the POW camp, may be able to connect with him faster than us.”

“Jean, you will stay with Richard and me. Hugh will join us. He is either in the room with Joseph and Lucien or at the nurse’s station waiting for us. There are some issues there that we need to attend to – primarily it is his back, his left knee, a cavity in a lower molar, and he has a fungal infection in both ears. We have drawn several vials of blood, testing it for anything we can think of, including drugs of all sorts, parasitic infections, heavy metals, whatever. About the fungal infection - we are hoping we can use the identity of the organisms to help us figure out where he was. His chest x-ray is clear, still waiting on skull and knee reports from radiology. Alice, if you have more ideas on the blood tests, or anything, let either Hugh or me know.”

“Jean, I do not want him to see you at first. We can watch through a two-way window to the room. You will know what is going on. I want you to listen to what he tells Joseph, Alice and Matthew, see his back and be certain it is him before you go into the room. Alice and Matthew, if Jean enters the room, the patient is Major Blake.”

“Joseph gave him a very long shower, helped him wash his hair and his beard, and we have packed his knee in cold compresses and wrapped it. I have an Ortho consult – ‘remember Gus Wilson, Jean?’ – ordered this morning so we can start a treatment plan for his knee. His back needs a lot of attention. I had the pharmacy compound the lotion that you use, Jean.” He handed Alice a large container of it. “Alice, get him on his right side, towards the two-way window in the room and put on the lotion. Do it slowly so Jean can determine if the patient is Lucien. If he is truly Lucien Blake, you need to give her time to recover her composure before entering the room,” James told all of them.

Richard began to add his thoughts to the conversation, “As you can all appreciate, he is pretty confused now, prone to anxiety. I have not given him any medications at this point. I want to observe him over the next few days to see how we can help him without dulling his thinking, his memories. If he gets too upset, I will slow him down, at least so he can rest. I think evenings might be tricky, so I will be here the next few nights. Matthew, Alice and Jean, anything you observe, want to add to the mix of ideas on how to help him, you let us, any of us, know.” 

Alice jumped into the conversation. “I have something to add to our discussion. Jean, with your permission?” “Yes, Alice, of course.” “Jean had an unusual cardiac event this morning. About 6:30, something happened.” James quickly interrupted her, “Alice, so did Lucien. Same time. He reached for his chest, couldn’t explain it, EKG normal, vitals stable.” “Jean had a normal EKG, normal vitals as well,” Alice told the group. “I thought my heart skipped a beat, got out of rhythm or something. Felt like I did when Lucien disappeared, remember that day in January, James?” Jean added. “Yes, I do remember that Jean, I do,” James told her. “If this patient is Lucien and Jean stays here, I want her monitored for the next few days,” Alice told them. “And Hugh and I will take care of her. We are doing the same for Lucien,” James assured Alice. “Jean, you tell us if you feel this way again, agreed?” “Yes, I will, James, I will.”

Jean looked at James and Richard and asked, “Is this person Lucien? Neither of you have said what you really think, have you? Is it?” James answered, “Jean, we will not know for certain until you tell us that the person is Lucien Blake – it is your call, your decision. If you think it is not Lucien, you tell us. We will all profusely apologize to you and let you return to Ballarat. And we will have put you through the ringer for no reason at all.”

“But James and Richard, I think this person is Lucien. Call me crazy if you want to, but with both of us having similar cardiac episodes at the same time this morning, I think, well I know, we are now back in sync, we are close together, I just feel that way. Alice, I know it does not make sense to you, because I have no solid evidence, it is just a feeling, but, but well, this person will prove to be Lucien Blake, I know it,” Jean told them with conviction.

Then Danny jumped into the conversation, “Auntie Jean, if the person is Lucien, then we kick into high gear, helping him figure out what happened. Charlie, Matthew and I will take the lead on unpacking this as fast as we can. And don’t be alarmed with the security detail in the room and in the hallway near Lucien. They are just a precaution.”

Matthew looked at Richard, was about to say something, and Richard, by eyebrow movement said ‘Not now Matthew, not now. Leave it be, until later, please.’ Matthew thought to himself, ‘Just what in blazes is going on here?’


	5. Lucien?

Chapter 5 Lucien?

Once Lucien was back in bed, Hugh hooked up another IV solution, added some pain medication, and Lucien fell asleep very quickly. Carol elevated his knee, packed it in cold compresses, and wrapped it, put a second towel on the pillow for his wet hair, and put a sheet over his legs. 

Joseph dried off, got dressed and called Mattie, told her what had happened early this morning. “Joseph, can Lucien see the kids tomorrow or is that too soon?” “Mattie, I am hoping that Blake can help him. Tell him to pick out a couple of stories to read to Lucien.“ Joseph, give Jean a huge hug for me and tell her I will see her in the morning.” “Of course, Mattie. I am still trying to get my bearings. This was so unexpected, and all of us are trying to determine a path through uncharted territory, for all of us,” Joseph told Mattie. “Joseph, take care of Lucien for Jean. She needs him back in her life. And he needs her. Truth be told, we need him as well.” “I think I need to stay most of the day. I will be home for dinner,” Joseph told her. 

While Lucien was sleeping, Carol began talking with Hugh and Joseph. “Let me see his records, give me some background information on what is going on. I want the two of you to help me equip his bed with a trapeze pull bar as well as Gus Wilson’s preferred ‘monstrosity’ for a serious knee injury, which our patient appears to have. I also want to organize a tray with all the supplies to drain his knee. And why Joseph were you giving our patient a shower? Do you know him? I can’t think of any other reason for you to be working with a POW.” 

“Carol, I asked James for both you and Diane to be assigned for our patient. It is a long story, but the short version, he has been missing for over two years, we are getting his wife, Jean, down here from Ballarat as we speak, and we do not know if he remembers us, who he is, or what happened. We have the security detail to protect him and us from – I don’t know what, but we all need to be careful. I gave him a shower because I am the person who kept him quiet and calm last night. Well, I held his hand and talked to him, for hours,” Joseph told her. Carol looked at Joseph and asked, “Is this patient the Dr. Blake who works with the POW grant team?” “We think so, but please do not use his name yet. Richard wants him to self-identify, if he can,” Joseph told her. “Understood,” Carol told him.

“Joseph and Hugh, do you two want some breakfast? I ordered some extra food and have a couple trays of breakfast in the warmer for you,” Carol told them. “Yes, thank you, that would be lovely. Can’t remember the last time I ate,” Hugh told her. “Me too,” Joseph said, hearing his stomach growl almost on cue. As they were eating, Carol continued to ask questions about her new patient. “I am assuming liquids, soft food for our patient, right? With the dehydration and not knowing when he had a decent meal, don’t want to upset his stomach, do we?” “Yes, you are right. Let’s have a variety of liquids for the first few hours and then add in some soft items. See how he does. I think he will sleep off and on today. He looks exhausted to me, been living rough, and he is a good deal thinner than I remember,” Hugh told her. “Richard and James will be up soon and you can chat more with them on their thoughts,” Joseph told her.

About two hours later, Lucien woke up, looked for Joseph, felt for his hand, grabbed it tightly, and let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you for being here with me, Joseph. I am certain you have other things to do beside stay with me, hold my hand.” “This morning, you are my focus. I will take care of you.” “Why would you do that?” “Um, because you, um, because I promised James, yes, that’s it, that I would help,” Joseph haltingly stated, trying not to tear up. Lucien looked at him, reached his hand to Joseph’s face, turned his face towards him, and gently wiped some tears away. “Thank you. You are a good man, Joseph. Will you read me the paper? Your voice is so familiar and I feel like I can relax, I am not so anxious.” “You bet. I have today’s paper with me. Want the funny pages first?” “Yes, I do,” Lucien said with a grin.

Hugh walked up to Lucien and asked him, “Ready for some tea, water, or juice? We don’t want you eating anything just yet but fluids are fine. What is your choice?” “Whatever you have is fine. Um, Decisions are pretty hard for me right now. Still kinda of sleepy,” Lucien told him. “Carol, can you bring some juice and some more water?” Hugh asked her. 

Carol approached the bed and introduced herself to Lucien and then placed the drinks near Joseph, who handed them one at a time to Lucien. Hugh began talking to Lucien, “Need to get some values on you, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, check your responses. Is that alright? Joseph can keep reading to you, I will try not to interfere.” “Hugh that is fine. But first, can you answer a question for me?” Lucien asked him. “Certainly,” Hugh said, looking at Lucien and then at Joseph, wondering what he had in mind. “Well, ah I know your names but you have never called me by a name. Why is that?” Lucien asked them both. Joseph began, “Well, you had no identification on you. We do not know your name.” “So if you do not know who I am, why did all four of you take care of me last night?” Lucien asked, with a questioning look. Hugh answered this time, “Because, that is what we do. Take care of anyone who shows up in A&E. Can you tell us your name?” “Um, well, I am ah – um, I guess I can’t, right now,” Lucien replied with an anguished look on his face. Joseph quickly told Lucien, “Why don’t you think about who you are and where you are from and see if anything comes to mind? We will ask you again later.” “Alright, I will do that, Joseph. But right now, will you please keep reading to me? Can I have the juice now?” Lucien asked him, holding his hand even tighter than before. 

Later that morning, there was a knock on the door. One of the security detail met Alice, Matthew and Carol at the door of the room, let them in, and then both he and Hugh went to the hallway. Hugh joined Jean, James and Richard. Lucien was awake, sitting up in bed, had his left leg elevated and covered in cold compresses, and was drinking tea. He was wearing a pair of sleeping shorts., with a sheet covering his legs. Carol had placed a towel around his neck to catch the water from his wet hair. Joseph was sitting in a chair near the bed. Lucien kept his eyes on Joseph, who held his hand. Joseph stopped reading the newspaper to Lucien, put it down and looked towards Carol, Alice and Matthew, and smiled at them.

“Good morning,” Alice told Lucien, as she walked up to the bedside. She was wearing a white coat, carrying a medical chart, her stethoscope in a pocket. He looked at her and smiled. Looking at him, she asked “I will be your physician. I need to check your name is correct on the record I have for you. Can you tell me your name?” “Alice, Alice,” Lucien told her with a grin. “Um, Alice is a female name, a lady’s name, I think you are a man. So, let’s try this again, what is your name?” Lucien reached for Matthew’s hand to shake it, “Matthew, how are you? How is your leg? I think I did surgery on it, didn’t I?” “Yes, you did. I am doing pretty good now, still have to use a cane.” “Doing your exercises – right?” “Yes, I am, as hard as they are to do.” “Alice, are you making certain he is doing them correctly?” “Yes, I am.” “Good. Good.” 

Lucien reached out for Matthew’s left hand, “Matthew, what do I see on your left ring finger? Is that a wedding ring? Alice, let me see your hand. My goodness, they are a matching pair. You two? When? My goodness gracious, that is, that is um um—” Lucien was fumbling for words, but couldn’t find them. “I asked Alice about a year ago and she said yes. Still can’t believe it,” Matthew told him. 

Looking at his left hand Lucien said, “Oh no. I must have lost my wedding ring. It is not on my finger. Jean might be mad at me, do you think Matthew?” “No, Jean will not be angry at you,” Matthew told him. “That is good news,” Lucien said, with a sigh of relief.

Behind the two way mirror, Jean smiled, looked at Richard, “Richard, he knows he lost his ring, I have it with me. His face, his eyes, the scar on his upper right chest, the wound on the left side of his chest that Percy Walker inflicted – yes, I think he is Lucien, I do.” James, putting an arm around Jean’s waist, “But we need to hear him tell us who he is. And you need to see his back.” 

Alice looked at Lucien again, “Now let’s get back to you. What is your name?” Lucien looked at her and smiled, “Alice, I did not know you treated live people.” Alice answered him, with a smirk on her face, “Yes, I do on occasion, on very special occasions, only very special people. You are really very fortunate that I have time to serve as your physician, do you know that? Today, you are my patient. What name do I put on the paperwork? Can you tell me who you are?” Alice asked Lucien. Lucien looked intently at her, eyes darting, lips beginning to open. She had a feeling that he was very close to telling her his name. She was having a hard time not using his name, not giving any clues to him.

“Don’t you know me, Alice? Don’t you know my name? Can’t you tell me who I am?” Lucien asked her. “I want you to try to tell me your name. So let’s begin again. Let’s see if you can remember it.” “Alright, Alice, I am, um I am um, let’s see – Joseph, you know who I am, right?” Joseph looked at him and said, “You need to try to tell us who you think you are. Maybe your first name? I think you can do that.”

‘So, I need a name, and you two will not help me. Matthew, what about you? Will you help me?” Matthew smiled at Lucien and then shook his head no. “Um well, this is hard, you all know that right? So, um my name is, my first name is, what? ah Louis, no, no that is not quite right, is it?” Lucien looked at Joseph for help. “What do you think it is?” Joseph asked him. “Well, um, I know it is not Louis, but wait, just a second, um ah Lucien – yes Lucien, that sounds better to me. It is French, it means light and my mother was French, her name was Genevieve. She was an artist. And – um – ah, last name, yes, I need a last name don’t I? – my father was Thomas, yes Thomas Blake. He was a physician. So my last name – it is Blake. Yes, I believe that is my name. That sounds right to me. My name is Lucien Blake! Joseph! Joseph, I figured it out, I did. I know that is right. Yes, it is.” “Yes, I think you are right. You remembered your name, you did, Lucien,” Joseph told him, with a huge grin on his face. “You do know me, Joseph, don’t you?” Lucien asked Joseph. “Yes, I do. But you needed to tell us your name yourself, and you most certainly did,” Joseph said. 

Alice continued, “Do you have a middle name Lucien Blake?” “Yes, Alice, I do. Let me see, it is, it is – from my grandfather, that’s right, my grandfather, and um ah his name was Radcliffe. That’s right. I am Lucien Radcliffe Blake and you know, I live in Ballarat in a home at 7 Mycroft Avenue. I live with Jean. I have a surgery in part of the house. I drive a tan Holden automobile. Jean doesn’t think it gets very good gas mileage, but it goes fast, when I want it to. Yes, that is me. Alice, where do you live?” Alice told him “Matthew and I live in Ballarat, as well.” “Yes, of course you do, I remember that now.”

Jean, looking at Richard, told him, “Richard, it seems like a set of memories released all at once, doesn’t it?” “Jean, let’s see if he remembers more now that we have started asking questions and he has answers to tell us,” Richard said.

Matthew asked Lucien, “Who is this handsome man?” while pointing at Joseph. “Um, well, that is Joseph, he delivers babies, but he has been taking care of me all morning. I don’t remember how we know each other, but we do. I am sure of it. He helped me take a shower, a very long one – he even got in there with me and got very wet as well – helped me wash my hair. Took us forever to get the shampoo out of it. I don’t know why my hair is so long. Still not dry – we have a towel over the pillow to keep soaking up the water.”

“Alice, so much is still pretty fuzzy – well, I am so mixed up – so confused – right now. Can’t keep a focus on much of anything. Thoughts are jumping here and there and I try to grab them. Um, Yes, Yes, Jean, what about Jean, yes Jean? Did you know I am married to Jean? I took her on a four month honeymoon – I had so many places I wanted to show her. Oh, I missed dinner didn’t I?” Alice told him, “Yes, Lucien, you are married to Jean and you did miss dinner.” “Oh my, is Jean upset with me?” Lucien asked. “Of course not. She will be so glad you are safe,” Alice told him, looking into his eyes, watching them dart around, probably like his thoughts were doing. 

“Will you call Jean for me, Matthew? I can’t remember the number. I cannot. Help her get here?” “Yes, of course, Lucien, I will take care of that as soon as Alice is finished with her examination of you.” “Thank you so much, Matthew. I want to see her, I need to hold her, I need to be with her, I need to talk to her. I really do. Need to explain, must explain so much – I do. Can you get her here today, please?” Lucien told him, with tears collecting at the corner of his eyes. “Yes, I will get her here today, Lucien, I will.” 

As Jean watched Lucien talking about the two of them, tears formed in her eyes as well. Richard walked up to her, put an arm around her waist, pulled her close to him and just held her. “Richard, please let him know who I am. We need to be together – I need him,” Jean told him, sniffling. James handed her his handkerchief. 

Lucien picked up the conversation about Joseph. “Oh, Joseph trimmed my beard as well. I think it looks pretty good, don’t you?” “Yes, Lucien, it does. Joseph did a very good job,” Matthew told him, while looking at Joseph, smiling. “You know, Matthew, Joseph is a good man.” “Yes, he is, Lucien.” “Matthew, do you know Joseph?” Matthew looked at Alice before answering Lucien, trying to get some guidance, “Well, yes, Lucien, I do know him.” “Very interesting, because I do too, but can’t quite figure out how I know him.”

“Alice, my back, my back really itches. What happened to it?” “Lucien, can I look at your back? Once I see it, I will tell you what I think we need to do.” Lucien leaned forward, Alice looked at his scarred back and said, “Yes, it looks very dry. Let’s start by rubbing some lotion on it. That will help with the itching. Let’s get you rearranged in the bed, on your right side, and I will put it on for you.” Joseph, Carol and Matthew helped Lucien get turned over, put his knee on a pillow and then braced it so he could not move it. “Bloody knee. It hurts.” Joseph held his hands, kept eye contact, telling him, “Remember, look at me, focus on me.” “Yes, I will, Joseph.”

As Jean saw his back, she gasped, tried to breathe, and needed to sit down. “Oh my, James, James.” “Right here, Jean. We have you.” James and Hugh held her, helped her sit down. Richard looked into her eyes and said “Jean, you need to look at me, eyes on me, breathe for me, yes, take another breath for me, yes, that is better.” “I, I thought I would see him again, Richard. I did. I tried to be strong for him, to think he was still alive, that he would come back – but what has he endured? What happened to him?” and her tears flowed. She hung onto Richard, cried into his chest, and finally got some control back. 

“Jean, let’s take it a step at a time. Let’s let Alice put some of the lotion on and then you can slip into the room and finish applying the lotion to his back. I think your touch will be enough for him to know it is you. Here, wipe your tears away. Let’s replace them with tears of joy, alright?” Richard told her softly, wiping the tears out of his eyes as well.

As she started slowly applying the lotion, Alice did not realize just how scarred Lucien’s back was. She kept her reaction to herself, kept her composure, and started talking to Lucien, “Does this make your back feel better, Lucien? I am not hurting you, am I?” “No, Alice, it feels good, it is cool, and you are not hurting me. It is not itching where you have put the lotion on. Thank you ever so much.” Alice thought to herself, it seems that Lucien does not remember what happened to his back, he does not, and maybe that is why he does not know his POW colleagues. But, there is something about Joseph, his voice, that drew Lucien to him last night when he was unconscious. Interesting. Why not any of the others – Richard, James or Hugh? 

When Alice was about two-thirds finished applying lotion to Lucien’s back, Jean quietly slipped into the room. James, Hugh and Richard entered with her. Alice stayed in her place on one side of the bed, let Jean reach his back from the other side of the bed. Lucien did not realize that Jean was in the room. Alice smiled at Jean, touched her hands, and let her remove some lotion from the container. Once Lucien felt different hands - Jean’s hands - on his back, he sobbed, his breath caught, and he started crying, “Oh, Jean, Jean, Jean, what have I done to you? To us? Where have I been? What has happened to me? I have missed you so, so much.” “Lucien, let me finish putting the lotion on and I will talk to you.” Jean finished applying the lotion, kissed his bum like she always did when she finished with his back. “Jean, I remember that you always kissed me like that, you did. That was our special secret, but now everyone in this room knows it, don’t they?” “Yes, Lucien, they do, but I bet they won’t tell anyone or tease us about it.” Jean told him as she kissed his bum several more times.

Then, Jean leaned over his back and kissed him on the neck. “We are going to turn you on your back. I will talk with you.” Once Joseph, Hugh and James got him turned over, Jean sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Lucien. Carol repositioned his knee and checked the cold packs and the wrap on it. 

Lucien looked at Jean, their eyes locked on each other, both smiled and he said, “I would know your touch anywhere, anytime. Can I hold your hands, Jean?” “Lucien Blake, of course you can hold my hands, I am so glad you are alive, that James figured out who you were. That Joseph, Hugh and Richard helped you. That you are feeling better than last night.” “Jean, you are here with me. You are here. Please don’t leave me.” Lucien reached for her face and felt her tears, wiped them away. “I don’t have a handkerchief to give you.” Matthew handed him his. “Jean, here, let me wipe some more tears away. I am here, Jean, I am back. I missed you so much. You know that I love you, I need you,” Lucien told Jean, as he held her face in his hands, then kissed her, not once but several times. “Jean, Jean –"

Both Alice and Matthew surrounded Jean, put their arms around her shoulders and back, giving her both physical and moral support. The three of them had become such good friends since Lucien disappeared. Lucien looked at the trio, smiled at each of them. “Matthew, um did Jean come with you and Alice? You said you would call her, but but she was already here, wasn’t she? I bet you were not certain um that I was Lucien Blake, right? You tested me, made me tell you who I was, right? And you did not help me – and I figured it out – myself, I did,” Lucien said, with a grin on his face. “Yes, Lucien, I came with Matthew and Alice, and we were not certain who you were at first, but when I saw your back, well I knew it was you, I did,” Jean told him, reaching for his hands to kiss. “And I am so glad you know who I am, Lucien. I was so afraid you would not,” Jean told him, smiling, breathing deeply, tears starting to flow again.

“James told me I am in Melbourne, he took care of me last night, but I don’t know how I got here, don’t know where I have been. Why didn’t I come to Ballarat?” Getting agitated, Lucien asked Jean, “How are we going to figure this out?” “Lucien, we will sort it out. With all of us helping you, we will get to the bottom of this,” Matthew told him. 

Jean put her hands to Lucien’s face, felt his beard and said, “Your beard looks pretty good after Joseph trimmed it. But your hair, my goodness gracious. You have not been to a barber in months. That may be a starting place ¬- how long ago you did you have a haircut? Maybe you will remember where you got it cut. Maybe remember why you let it grow so long.”

The door opened and in walked Danny and Charlie. Lucien looked at them, grinned at the two of them and took Danny’s hand, “You are Danny, Jean’s nephew.” Then reached for Charlie’s hand, “You are Charlie. You both used to live with us in Ballarat, at different times.” Charlie told Lucien, “That is right, Lucien. Danny and I are going to help you figure out what happened. We have your ruck sack and are going through it, seeing what clues we can determine from the contents, maybe it will help us figure out where you were, what happened to you.” 

“Charlie, there are several hidden compartments in it, be certain you look at everything. I can’t remember why they are there but I think it is important.” “Will do, Boss.” “Why did you call me Boss? Wait, wait, now I remember, you are a copper, aren’t you? With Matthew, right? We worked together in Ballarat, didn’t we?” “Yes, we did, but now I am a detective in Melbourne. So is Danny. We are working with Matthew on your case. We are going to figure this out, we will.” 

Charlie began telling the group what they had already discovered. “Danny and I took the ambo report that James gave us and talked to the attendants. You were sitting upright at a shop called ‘Jean’s Toys,’ leaning against the wall. You were by yourself. Of course, the shop was closed. We are going back there to talk to the owners, ask if they had noticed you walking or limping by the store in the last few days. Also, we talked to the officers who found you. They were patrolling the street, didn’t see you in their pass at 11 PM but did spot you just before midnight. You were for the most part non-responsive, but yelled at the officers when they touched your knee, you were hot to the touch and they called for help. You did not talk to the ambo attendants in a coherent manner, did not smell of alcohol, were non-combative. You had your ruck sack with you and your knee was propped up on it. Yelled at them about your knee before you passed out.” “Bloody knee, it really hurts. Bloody damn steps. I fell really hard on it,” Lucien said to the group. 

Danny continued, “Doc, any idea where you fell? Why you were at Jean’s Toys? Where you were staying before last night? Were you with anyone else?” “Danny, I don’t know. Maybe ‘Jean’s Toys’ because of Jean’s name? Why did you call me ‘Doc?’” “It is what I have always called you. Never could call you Lucien, just too informal, does not reflect who you are, I guess,” Danny told him. 

Pulling out a map of the city centre of Melbourne, Charlie placed it on Lucien’s lap. “Let’s look at this map together, Boss. Here is where you were found at Jean’s Toys. Here is the hospital where you are now. Does anything come back to you by looking at this?” “Well, um, I think I have been in this hospital building before but can’t tell you why exactly. Maybe Jean and I were here once? The toy shop -- I have absolutely no idea. Is there an Oriental Medicine shop near here, pointing at the hospital? “Yes, there is. It is here. Were you there?” “Well, um, maybe, yes, could be, I think so, sorry Charlie. Not much help am I?” 

“Lucien, don’t worry about this right now. You brain will process what Charlie and Danny are asking, might be a couple of days before you come up with something. Just don’t push yourself about this,” Richard told Lucien as he put his hand on Lucien’s shoulder. Matthew looked at Charlie and Danny, “Good work in a short amount of time, both of you. Thank you.”

Gus Wilson had slipped in to the room while Charlie was talking. James and Richard joined him to chat. “I have studied the x-rays of his knee. His knee needs a lot of attention. I need to drain it. How much pain medication is he on now? I don’t want to give him too much,” Gus told James. Richard entered the conversation, “Gus, it is more complicated than that. Lucien has been drugged, he has at least three different classes in his system now. We don’t know which specific ones he is on – still trying to figure it out. So I am hesitant to give him any additional pain medication beyond what we have him on now. I think you can numb the area but he is going to hurt when you drain his knee.” “Well, that is an entirely different can of worms isn’t it? Any idea who is giving them to him?” Gus said. “No idea at this point in time,” James told him. “Alright, we go forward and he can yell at me as much as he needs to. I will explain this to him later in the week when you have more information about the specific drugs and his knee feels better,” Gus said, already feeling bad about what he needed to do.

James and Hugh walked to the bedside and nodded at Lucien. “Lucien, how is the knee feeling?” “I can hardly bend it. My entire leg feels like a heavy log.” “We have an Ortho consultant, Gus Wilson, with us and he is here to help us determine how best to proceed. We would like to look at it now. Alice, will you give us your insight into this as well? I hope you will be the lead physician in Ballarat for Lucien. We want you involved from the beginning with his care.” “Of course, I will help in Lucien’s care, if he agrees.” “Yes, Alice, please,” Lucien told her, as he reached for her hand to hold.

Gus walked up to Lucien, looked at him, shook his hand, and said, “Good Morning, Lucien. I want to examine you knee and I know as swollen as it is, this will be uncomfortable. If you need to yell at me, do it. I also have a couple braces with me and I want to see which one is better suited to your injury.” Lucien looked at him, “Thank you for helping me.” There was no recognition of Gus at all, despite the fact they knew each other. 

Based on the x-rays, mobility testing, swelling, Gus had decided to drain fluid from Lucien’s knee. Carol rolled a supply cart up to Gus with the materials he would need. “Thanks Carol for taking on this special assignment. You knew what equipment I was going to request for the hospital bed as well as what I would probably need to do for his knee. Makes it much easier to help our patient,” Gus told her.

His knee was numbed up, Jean sat on the edge of the bed, held his hand and kept his eyes focused on her. Joseph sat on the opposite side, held Lucien’s other hand. They blocked the procedure from his view. He squirmed at times, became somewhat agitated and anxious, but Jean gently refocused him on her, quietly talking to him. He looked at Joseph occasionally, squeezed his hand hard at times as he grimaced and spit out, “Bloody Hell, Gus, this really hurts, do you know that?” “Yes, Lucien, I imagine it does. But we need to start treating your knee, right?” “Yes, Gus I guess you do.” Jean wiped some tears from his eyes. “Lucien, look at Joseph and me. This will be over soon. Just focus on us.” Lucien pulled Jean’s hand to his face and kissed it. “Jean, sorry about my language,” Lucien said with a grin, as he kissed her hand again.

Once the procedure was completed, his knee was wrapped again, cold packs were applied, and his leg was elevated. Gus selected one of the braces to use initially. “We will switch to a different one when the swelling goes down. But I think this one is best for now. You will be on crutches for at least six weeks, probably longer, Lucien,” Gus told him. “This brace will let us elevate your leg and keep it steady. Lots of swelling to deal with. You will not like having your leg in this contraption, but if you behave, I will have you into a different brace in four or five days.” “I will do my best to behave myself, Gus. I don’t want you hurting my knee again like you did today,” Lucien told him. Gus, walking up to Lucien, touching his shoulder, “Lucien, I assume you did not have access to crutches so you had little choice but to walk on your injured knee - but my friend, you did not do it any good. It will take time to heal and repair.” 

“Gus, are we friends? Really? Do I know you?” Lucien asked Gus, looking intently at him. Gus looked at Richard for guidance, and then said, “Yes, Lucien we are friends. I will let you think about that fact and tell me later how we know each other, alright?” “Yes, Yes, Gus, I will think about it.” “And Lucien, I am sorry I had to hurt your knee. It was not my intention. Keep it elevated and if you are up, use crutches. I will see you tomorrow. If you have any trouble with it, let any of us know,” Gus told him, as he put his hand on Lucien’s shoulder.

“Lucien, are you hungry? I have ordered some liquids and soft food for you to try,” Hugh said. “If you don’t like any of these offerings, I will ask for something else. I do want you drinking lots of fluid, like water, tea, juice, broth.” “Hugh, I am really getting so tired. I think I want to rest for a while before eating something.” “That is fine, Lucien, I will hook up another saline IV for you, add some additional pain medication, and you can take a nap while that empties. Carol and I will stay with you and the others can go to the cafeteria and get some lunch. How does that sound?” “Fine,” Lucien said yawning and falling asleep before the IV even started dripping. “Jean, go ahead and get something to eat with the group. Carol and I will stay with him. We will take care of him,” Hugh told her. “But Hugh I did not tell him I would be here when he wakes up.” Carol entered the conversation, “Jean, um Mrs. Blake, I will tell him. I will make certain he understands you are here and you would not leave him in hospital by himself.”

Joseph helped Jean off of the side of Lucien’s bed. She leaned over to Lucien and kissed his face, his lips, and then his hands, gazed at him. “Sleep well, Lucien. I will be back – I will stay with you. We are all going to help you figure out what happened,” Jean told him, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. “Joseph, Joseph, -“ “Jean, lets walk to the cafeteria and get some lunch. Give me your hand to hold,” Joseph told her as he escorted her out of the room. Richard joined them and told Jean, “You need to have time away from this room. I imagine Lucien will be here for three or four weeks, perhaps more. You must pace yourself for the long run. Let’s get something to eat, alright?” Jean nodded her head in agreement.


	6. Some Memories

Chapter 6 Some memories

James, Jean, Alice, Joseph, Richard, and Matthew walked to a private room off of the Physician’s Cafeteria for lunch. After eating, they formulated a plan for returning Lucien to physical and mental well-being. Alice suggested a full workup and James agreed. He told Alice that it is already underway with more tests scheduled in the next few days. James asked her to look over what was ordered and add additional tests that she wanted, and he told her the results were be forwarded to her each day. Richard said that he would start working with Lucien, trying to help him unpack what happened as soon as he thought he was ready. They agreed that only when Richard and Alice determined that Lucien was ready to return to Ballarat would that transfer happen. Matthew suggested that he and Alice would return to Ballarat later that afternoon – the police car and officer were still at the hospital. Matthew told them he would have Jean’s satchel as well as the travel bags for Jean and Lucien delivered to the room. 

Matthew then said – “Alright everyone, the elephant in the room – why the armed security detail?” Richard and James sketched out their observations and thinking about Lucien being drugged as well as having a recent head injury. Alice looked at them and said, “Show me the evidence.” “We knew that would be your response and we should have some answers later this afternoon, Alice,” Richard said, smiling and chuckling. That triggered Alice’s ‘look’ of ‘Well, you have not proven it to me, Richard McCoy. I am waiting for the data.’ “I know what you are thinking Alice, I do. Let me get my evidence lined up for you,” Richard told her. “Yes, Richard, you need to – and before we leave for Ballarat.”

Joseph entered into the conversation. “I want to tell all of you about my interactions with Lucien. He was only quiet when I was holding his hand and reading the newspaper to him and this continued even after we had him in his room. When I helped him with the shower, he did not have a clue what to do. I told him what I wanted and he was able to complete the task. Richard, help me understand what is going on. Is this dehydration, a head injury, drug withdrawal, a combination of these, something else?” “Joseph, all good observations, questions, and we are in uncharted territory with Lucien. I need to know what drug combination he is on and perhaps we can better understand his behavior, his memory lapses. Also, I need to see the films of his skull. This is not the Lucien Blake we all know. But, we do know Lucien is strong and our job is to help him recover, at his pace, not at ours,” Richard told them. 

Alice looked at Matthew. “Matthew, I think you should call Rose and let her know that Lucien is in hospital here, we will be staying here until later this afternoon, but we will return to Ballarat tonight. Not to tell anyone what is going on.” “Of course, Alice. An excellent idea. I will also ask her to find her notes from her interviews and discussions we had when Lucien disappeared. I will go over them with her, again. Maybe we will see her notes in a different light.”

Jean talked with Joseph privately. “Joseph, Lucien does not know who you are does he?” “Jean, I do not think so. Mattie will bring the children tomorrow morning as well as our wedding pictures – I want him to see the two of you with us – after all he was the Best Man and you were the Matron of Honor. I am hoping that young Blake will be able to engage him – he wants to read him stories, he knows why I am not at home, that Lucien is here, and he wants to see his Uncle. Perhaps a child may well lead him back to us, Jean.” 

“Joseph, thank you so much for helping Lucien last night and this morning. He kept you in eye contact the entire time that Alice and Matthew were in the room.” “Jean, he is my best friend, my physician, my confidant, my mentor, and will return to that, I just know it. He will need our help, we will turn this around for him. Mattie sends her love.” “How is Jenny?” “Well, Jenny is teething and she is not very happy about it. She is really a pistol now, walking, getting into everything. Lucien will be surprised at our little addition.“

“How are you doing, Jean? How is your neck? How can I help you?” “Joseph, I am out of meds for my neck.” “I will take care of that this afternoon for you.” Jean reached up to Joseph’s face and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I do not know what I would l have done without you and Mattie and the kids. You have helped me so much.” “We want the two of you to have many more years, together. Do you remember when Mattie, Danny and I gave you two the night off from my nightmare escapade? You said yes very quickly and Lucien had you down the hallway before we knew it. You need to be together, like that, together you are whole, you are one.”

“Joseph, I am still trying to process what is going on. Where has he been? Who was he with? How long was he in Melbourne? Why couldn’t he write or call us? Why? Why? So many questions. Do you think he is on drugs or something? How did he get the head injury? Why did Richard and James think that?” “Jean, we will get to the bottom of this. Just give him time, give us time to do the footwork to help him.”

As the group were making their way back to Lucien’s room in the POW wing, he was beginning to awaken. Because both Jean and Joseph were not in the room, Hugh and Carol were on each side of the bed, to help calm him. Lucien opened his eyes, looked quickly around the room, could not see either Jean or Joseph, and his eyes began darting around, undoubtedly mimicking his thoughts that were dashing, racing here and there. “Lucien, Lucien, it is Hugh and Carol. Do you remember us from earlier this morning?” “Yes, I do Hugh.” “We are here to help you. Take my hand. It is not as calming as Joseph’s but let’s try to settle down a bit, alright?” Hugh told him. “Hugh, did Jean go back to Ballarat?” Lucien asked him, as he grabbed onto the hand, gripping it, stronger than Hugh anticipated. Hugh grimaced a bit, and Lucien saw his face, “Oh, sorry, Hugh I really have a grip on you don’t I?” “Yes, you do. Let up just a little bit, and I will be more comfortable,” Hugh told him. “Sorry.” “Lucien, you are safe with us. Jean will be right back,” Hugh explained.

Carol looked at him, put her hand on his shoulder, then turned his face so she could look into his eyes. “Lucien, look at me. Jean would not leave you here and return to Ballarat. She just would not. She is on her way back from lunch with Joseph. Would you like something to drink or eat? I have several things in the warmer that I think you would like. Should I get you something?” “Um, Carol, yes, please. Whatever you have is fine. I, I, um, whatever. Jean will be back, right?” “Lucien, yes, she will be back. I promise you. I am going to get you something, Hugh will stay here with you, and I will be right back,” Carol told him. 

“Um Hugh, I am, I am so – Just so confused, thoughts are everywhere. Don’t understand why, want to know why I am here, how did I get here, get so anxious, so scared,” Lucien said, with his random thoughts turned into words. “Lucien, you were brought to James in A&E last night about midnight. He called Joseph, Richard, and me to come help him,” Hugh told him. “Was I that much trouble for James?” Lucien asked. Now Hugh had to be careful, he could not tell him too much too quickly, confuse him even more, make him think he should know the four of them. “No, you did not cause any trouble. James had been on call a long time yesterday, he was tired, and he wanted some help. After all, you were unconscious and it is hard when the patient cannot tell the physician about what is wrong, when all of the symptoms started, how you are feeling, when you fell on your knee. We were all glad to help him - and you. James and I are in a joint practice, Richard sees some of our patients as well, and Joseph was on call last night to deliver two babies, which he had already done. We caught him before he went home. The four of us are all good friends,” Hugh told Lucien. 

“So you all stayed up the entire night with me? But, but you did not know my name, did you? Why did you help me?” Lucien asked. “You needed our help, it is that simple,” Hugh told him. “Thank you for helping me, but I do not deserve it, I don’t,” Lucien told him, shaking his head, smoothing his hair down. “And why would you say that to me?” Hugh queried him. “Um, well, Hugh, I just don’t.” “Well, Lucien Blake, I totally disagree with you. I think you do deserve our help. The four of us must help you – it is that simple. So, why don’t you think about this and see what you come up with, Lucien Blake.” “Alright, Hugh I will.”

When the lunch group returned to Lucien’s room, they found him talking to Hugh and Carol as well as drinking some broth, eating some scrambled eggs. “This tastes pretty good. Haven’t been eating much lately. I have money but just couldn’t figure out what to eat and where to get food,” Lucien told Carol. “Now, Lucien, you just ask me for food any time you feel hungry, alright? There will be a variety of choices, any time you want something. We will slowly work you up to more solid food.”

As soon as Lucien saw Jean, he reached out for her and said, “Jean, Jean, you are here. Carol told me you would not leave me, but, but, um, –” as some tears fell from his eyes. “I, I, well, I need to see you. Come to me, sit next to me, let me hold your hand, please?” Lucien released Hugh’s hand, and grabbed for Jean’s and settled down very quickly. He looked at everyone in the room, settled on Jean’s face, smiled at her, and the tension in his body drained away almost in an instant. “Sorry everyone, I am really a mess right now, aren’t I?” Lucien told no one in particular. 

After Lucien finished eating, Hugh disconnected the IV and told him, “Clark will be here in about 30 minutes to work on your hair. How much do you want it cut?” Looking at Jean for guidance, Lucien asked, “Jean, how much? I think I had it pretty short, didn’t I?” Jean reached into a large tote bag she brought with her and pulled out their wedding picture. “Lucien, here is what you looked like when we got married. Do you want it that short?” “Jean, Jean, I remember that day. I was so happy, so nervous, so excited, Matthew was with us, he couldn’t get the rings out of his pocket, remember?” “Well, Lucien, I finally did get them out – maybe I was just pulling your leg a bit. I knew how badly you wanted to be married to Jean. I delayed it just a bit, didn’t I?” Matthew said with a grin. “Jean, were you as nervous as I was?” Lucien asked, as he held her hands, kissed them, stroked them, kissed them once again. “I had a hard time swallowing, do you remember that, Jean?” “Lucien, Yes I do. But, I don’t remember that I was nervous. What I do remember – I just wanted to get married to you, I wanted to be your wife – legally, finally, we were Dr. and Mrs. Blake. It sounded so right to me.” “Jean, I waited so long for you, I didn’t want to mess it up, and look what I did to you. Went away, and um –” “But you are back, now, here with me, right, Lucien?” Jean told him, holding his hands. “Um, Yes, I am.”

“Jean, I am a physician and a surgeon, right? I took care of Matthew when he got hit by the car, right?” “Yes, Lucien, you did take care of me. If you were not there, I would have lost my leg. You wouldn’t let that young whipper snapper surgeon take it off. Mattie was there too,” Matthew told him. “Mattie? Mattie? Yes. She lived with us too, right? She was there when I returned to Ballarat from Hong Kong. Jean, Mattie and Danny took care of my father, Thomas, before I returned. Oh, my goodness, I am remembering some things, but they are not current memories, are they?” Lucien hurriedly said. “And that is enough for now, Lucien. Clark is here and let’s get your very long and unruly hair shortened up,” James told him. 

Joseph, Hugh and James got Lucien out of bed, helped him into a wheelchair, and placed the chair in the middle of the room. Hugh said, “Lucien, this is Clark.” “Hello. Thank you for cutting my hair today.” Clark told him ‘G’day, Lucien’ and put a cloth around his neck and asked, “You ready, Sir?” He looked at the wedding picture and asked “Should we go for this length or longer? I know we need to figure out how long ago his hair was cut. I am thinking we go short, and I will write down the length of several different sections of his hair. We measure it as it grows out and then can compare the length to what I cut off. We will keep the hair and perhaps you can test it – don’t know what for but maybe one of you will come up with something that will help. Is that a plan?” Lucien looked at Jean, needing her to decide, “Yes, Clark, let’s see if you can get it like the photo or even a bit longer,” Jean told him. “Lucien, sit still, here we go. Someone needs to collect his hair and put it in a bag for me,” Clark said, as he began to give Lucien a much needed haircut. Lucien was very quiet, withdrawn, certainly not the person he remembered. Hugh said something was going on with him – and indeed that seemed to be the case.

Once Clark was satisfied, he held a mirror for Lucien to check his new ‘look.’ Clark then opened a jar hair cream to tame his curls. Lucien could feel what he was doing, putting on the cream, combing his hair into place, and asked Clark “How did you know I had so many curls to settle down?” Hugh gave Clark a quick look, and Clark said “Well, um Lucien, Hugh told me.” “How do you know Hugh?” “Um, he gets his hair cut at my shop every four weeks or so,” Clark hoped he had bluffed his way through this. Lucien did not know who Clark was and he should have. After all they spent over 3.5 years together in camp and on occasion, he cut Lucien’s hair while he was in Melbourne. 

“Thank you again for the haircut, Clark. I need to pay you. But all of my money is in the bank. Matthew do you have some money I could borrow?” Hugh jumped in, “It is all taken care of Lucien.” Clark gathered his supplies and handed Lucien the container of hair cream. Then he started to leave the room, trying to hide the troubled look on his face from Lucien’s view. As James walked him out, he said quietly, “I will talk with you outside the room, Clark.” 

Hugh and Joseph helped Lucien back into bed, elevated his knee, and Carol packed it in cold compresses. Lucien Blake had emerged from all of the long hair and straggly beard. He was a totally different looking person than when he was delivered to A&E in the middle of the night.

“Lucien, what bank is your money in? You need to pay Hugh back for your haircut. Do you remember where you put your money?” Matthew asked hoping Lucien would answer without thinking too much about the question. “Well, Matthew, it is here in Melbourne and and um it is um well – oh Matthew, Bloody Hell, I can’t remember the name of the bank.” Taking another approach to the same question, Matthew asked, “Lucien, what about the colour of the bank building or maybe the size of the doors?” “Well, Matthew, it is a grey building, two story, has two large, heavy, carved wooden doors, with really shiny polished door pulls, across the street from the Oriental Medicine shop, but I can’t tell you the name of it.” “Lucien, that is enough information for Charlie and Danny to find it. Thank you for the description of it,” Matthew told him as he placed his hand on Lucien’s shoulder. “Jean, why would I have a bank here in Melbourne? Don’t we have one in Ballarat?” “Lucien, yes we have an account in Ballarat. About the bank here, I don’t know, but that information is important.” 

Matthew looked at James and asked about a phone in the room. “Over here on the wall, Matthew. Kind of hard to see it.” Matthew picked up the receiver and called Danny. “Danny can you come to Lucien’s room? We are leaving for Ballarat soon and we have some new information for you and Charlie to work with.” “We are on our way, Boss. Be there soon.” 

Jean sat down on the bed and looked at Lucien, held his hands, kissed them, and told him, “Lucien, you look very nice, all cleaned up, you are my handsome boy once again. I imagine you are getting tired, aren’t you?” “Jean, I really am. I think I will take another nap. Hugh, are you giving me something to make me so sleepy?” “No, Lucien, I think this is all due to being overheated and dehydrated. We don’t know how long all of that was ongoing. It has only been about 15 hours you have been here. I think tomorrow you will be more alert. I will hook up another IV and let you sleep again. This will give Jean a chance to rest as well.” “That’s a good idea. Jean, we will talk when I wake up, alright? You are not leaving me here by myself, right?” Lucien asked Jean. “Lucien Blake, I am staying here with you. I will not leave you – that is my promise to you,” Jean told him. Lucien reached for her hand and kissed it, smiled at her. “Lucien, I will make certain Jean is taking care of herself. And Jean will be here when you wake up. Don’t worry about that – she will be here,” Hugh told Lucien. 

“Lucien and Jean, we are going to head back to Ballarat now. You have our numbers. I will call tomorrow and see how you are progressing, Lucien,” Alice said. She walked up to Lucien and shook his hand, touched his shoulder and Matthew did the same. “You remember anything, anything at all, you tell Jean or Richard. Keep your knee elevated – right? I will check in with you tomorrow as well,” Matthew told him. “Thank you both for being with me this morning, helping me, helping Jean,” Lucien said, smiling at Matthew and Alice. 

Lucien began yawning, his eyelids closed, and he was asleep before anyone realized. Jean looked at James, with a raised eyebrow, and he walked over to the bedside. Hugh was quickly at the other side of the bed. After checking his vitals, James told the group, “Asleep. He appears to be exhausted, maybe relaxing his guard a bit, he doesn’t have to fight for a place to sleep, for food, for anything, drugs levels are decreasing, we have him pretty well hydrated now – never seen him behave like this. But he is stable. Hugh, let’s set up another EKG, pack his knee in new cold compresses, and let him rest. Jean, he is stable. One of us will be here with him.”

Alice looked at both James and Hugh and said, “I am assuming that both of you will not come to Ballarat this week for your POW clinic hours. Attending to Lucien should be your top priority this coming week. I understand that perfectly. I will cover for both of you. Matthew and I will be here on Friday and we can decide what your schedule will be for the next week. Of course, keep us informed of what is happening with Lucien and Jean.” “Alice, thank you. We are pleased that you will cover for us. We both think being here is what we must do,” Hugh told her. 

When Alice and Matthew left the room, they discovered Danny and Charlie were waiting in the hallway, talking to Carol. “Let’s get some tea and the four of us need to talk, now,” Alice suggested. Matthew looked at her, “Yes, Police Surgeon Harvey.“ Charlie and Danny just looked at each other, hiding their smiles. Alice in command was fine with them. They knew she had a good investigative head on her shoulders, would generate excellent ideas to discuss. “Dr. Harvey, there is a room down the hall that you can use,” Carol told her, and walked them to the entrance. “I will put the kettle on for you.” “Thank you, Carol,” Alice told her.

When Joseph was confident Lucien was resting and all was well with his Major, he told James and Hugh, “Going home to see Mattie and the kids. Call me if you need me. I will be in tomorrow morning.” While Lucien slept, a single bed for Jean and two easy chairs were delivered to the room.

Hugh looked at Jean and told her, “Now, Jean, let’s take care of you. James told both Carol and me about your episode this morning. I want an EKG, let me do a physical exam, blood work, get the baseline data set. We can do this next door. I will get Carol to help us. No arguing, alright?” “Hugh, I know better than to argue with you. One thing Lucien taught me – my stubborn streak can be harmful to my health. Let’s do this while he is asleep.” 

Hugh and Jean walked to the nurse’s station and asked Carol to help them. In 30 minutes, Jean was back in the room. “Jean, I did not find any issues to be concerned about. Labs will be back this evening. You seem fine right now. Of course, you feel anything different, let us know. Either James or I will check on you every day for the short term.” 

“Before I lie down, Hugh, I have some questions.” “Jean, I will try to answer them for you.” “Alright, how do I reconcile Lucien functioning as a physician with his memory lapses, inability to make decisions – How long has he been on drugs? Why is he on them? Um –“ “Jean, we are all asking the same questions plus dozens more. I don’t have many answers – but we are going to get a handle on this. Also, I am wondering why he has zeroed in on Joseph – needing to hear his voice, holding his hand, none of us understand that either. Let us know what he tells you so we can have all the information into one composite file.” “Hugh, I will. And thank you again for helping me. Today is just – um overwhelming.” “Yes, Jean, it is, for all of us.”

“Now, Jean, lie down, stretch out. Catch some sleep before your man is awake,” Hugh told her. “Thank you ever so much, Hugh.” “Of course, for my Major and his lady, anytime, anywhere.”


	7. Lucien's Ruck Sack

Chapter 7 Lucien’s Ruck Sack 

Matthew, Alice, Danny and Charlie sat down in the Doctor’s Lounge. Soon Richard and James joined them. Richard began, “So, everyone, we now have the initial analysis of the drugs present in Lucien on his admittance to hospital. He had at least three different classes of drugs in him, all at low levels. A more detailed analysis is underway and we should have it by Monday or Tuesday. Additionally, I have the x-ray films of his skull. He has suffered a skull fracture within the last couple of months. The fracture is nearly healed. Put the drugs and the fracture together – well, I think that is probably making his memories difficult to access, but he is able to function – takes orders well – I assume for some reason, he was told not to contact any of us and he has not. The levels must have decreased below the threshold to stay under control of someone, and he escaped or wandered away from them. Could be someone with him. Or he could be self-medicating for the head injury. I don’t know. But, if there is a second person, we need to find this person and protect Lucien from him. The security detail stays with him for the foreseeable future.” 

“Alice, here is the analysis. Study it and give us your ideas on what to expect from him in the next few days as he continues withdrawal. Our initial thoughts are to keep the IVs running, collect blood and urine samples for the next several days, get them analyzed. Be ready to help him however he needs it,” Richard continued. “James, why did you suspect he was drugged? Have you separated that from the potential head injury? Talk me through your thinking,” Alice asked. “When he arrived in A&E, his reflexes were off, his pupils reacted strangely to light, eyes not tracking quite right – and they still are not right. Initially thought maybe a head injury. After talking to Richard and his questions of ‘Why now?’ and ‘What is different?’ led us both to consider an additional hypothesis of Lucien being on something – perhaps drugs, self-medicating, someone giving him drugs. Can’t say this is what we expected to discover, but it does make some sense.” Alice asked Richard, “Can your friend also check Lucien’s hair for drug levels?” “I will find out and let you know.” “I want to see the x-rays of his head,” Alice told Richard. “Of course, I will get them for you.”

They all heard a commotion in the hallway begin. The security detail was arguing with someone. James and Charlie went out of the room and saw a professionally dressed man who had the name badge ‘Aaron Gage M. D.’ on his white coat. James looked at Charlie, “That is not Aaron Gage. I do not know who that is.” “Danny, come out here now,” Charlie called out. The three of them approached the door and started out to the hallway and the intruder started to run away from them. Charlie yelled towards the intruder, “Halt! This is the police. STOP NOW.” He continued moving away from them. Charlie and Danny dashed down the hallway and gang tackled him, piling on top of him, kicking his gun away from him as they pinned him to the floor. The potential assailant was slammed to the floor, hitting his head and nose, opening a gash on his head, probably breaking his nose. Danny handcuffed him very quickly. “Who are you? You are not Aaron Gage. Where is he?” James asked him. No answer was returned. James took the gun, put it into his pocket.

James called hospital security to go to Gage’s office and see if he was there - to search all of the rooms, closets, where ever a person could be hidden. If not there, to check his apartment and car, for a start. Within the hour, they called back and told James that Aaron was found in a closet in his office suite, out cold, and they had him at A&E. Richard went to check on him and found Gage alive, but unconscious. When he was stable, Richard left orders to have him moved up to Lucien’s floor so they could both be under his care, as well as James and Hugh.

After attending to Gage, Richard went to the next treatment room and looked in on the mystery man who needed stitches in his busted head, nose aligned. In going through his clothing, he discovered a wallet – it was Aaron Gage’s. Richard put the wallet in his coat pocket. He found no identification in the clothing. Asking the staff attending the man, they confirmed that they had found no identification for him either. Danny and Charlie’s tackle had also dislocated the man’s shoulder. One of the security detail remained with him and had him handcuffed to the bed. 

When Charlie and Danny returned to the meeting with Matthew and Alice, they updated them on what happened in the hallway. Alice looked at the two of them, “Do either of you need my medical assistance?” “Don’t think so, Alice. Thank you for asking. Well, we need to provide Lucien with 24/7 security now. James and Richard may be onto something. I didn’t think that was the case this morning. Just what did Lucien get involved in?” Danny told the group.

Matthew continued, “We need fingerprints on both of them, run background checks as well. Figure out their names, aliases, travel history, passports. We need as much information as we can get.” “Will do, Boss. Will let you know what we discover,” Charlie said. 

James entered the conversation. “Here, Matthew, is the gun from the guy. Let me tell you what I know. Aaron was a Captain in the Army, trained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has been on staff about two years. I asked him to consult on Lucien’s ear infection this morning. We were expecting him this afternoon. So our mystery man - he must have overheard the conversation. I called Aaron from the nurse’s station at A&E this morning before Richard and I came up to this floor.” 

Matthew added, “All the more reason to keep the security detail on this wing, for all of us. Oh, James, when did you call Gus?” Matthew asked. “Well, Matthew, let me think. Carol called him from up here. I forgot to do it from the A&E phone. So that tells us the person overheard my conversation with Aaron this morning, doesn’t it?” “James, I think it does indeed,” Matthew responded. “We will need to talk to anyone working this morning in A&E that might have seen this fellow. I will get a couple of people assigned to that right now, as well as get photographs of him,” Danny added.

Alice looked at James, Danny, Charlie, and Matthew and said, “Before we were interrupted, we were going to look at Lucien’s ruck sack, his clothing and make plans, let’s get back to it now.” Danny had a large pad of paper with him. Matthew started the conversation. “Here are some things I want us to do. First, we need to talk at least once a day, or more depending on what has developed. We need to assign out tasks for each of us to accomplish each day. I want to see us develop a timeline, starting the day Lucien disappeared until this morning when they found him. Being in two different towns, why don’t you be in charge of the time line, Danny. You can update me each day and we can make a duplicate in Ballarat.”

Charlie went next. “I have the ruck sack with me. I want all of us to slowly unpack it, inventory it, make certain we have all of the items out of it. Decide what needs to be done and when.”

“We have a name stenciled inside the sack and it is Col. L. R. Blake. So he has been in the Army, been promoted from Major, but why the long shaggy beard, long hair? How can that be if you are in the regular Army? We already took the ear drops out and Hugh has them. He is going to check the Oriental Medicine shop – long shot if Lucien got them there. But if he has been in town for a while, maybe we get lucky. Or if not there, get some ideas where else he might have purchased them.”

Matthew, looking at everyone and said, in an angry tone, “He was _not_ in the regular Army, folks. Another reason for the security detail.” 

They gathered around the table and the ruck sack. Alice said she would be scribe and write down what they pulled out of it and what they were going to do with each item. Charlie first pulled out three passports. One was a military passport with Lucien’s name and photograph. He had been to Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, South Viet Nam, Hong Kong, and Australia. The travel dates began 22 months ago, in February 1963. “Bloody Army. They ‘could not possibly comment,’ by damn, they certainly could have!” “If he was in the Army that long, didn’t he get any breaks to come back home, what do you call it, Matthew?” Alice asked. “R&R. His only return to Australia was about four weeks ago on November 9, 1964,” Matthew told her. “Why Matthew?” Alice asked. “Alice, a good question, I don’t have an answer for you – at this time,” Matthew replied.

Next Charlie removed the other two passports. One was Australian issue, his picture but not his name. The second one was an Irish passport, his picture, not his name again. “What is all of that about?” Danny asked. “We need to figure it out,” Matthew said, getting more angry as he realized what Lucien must have gone through. The dates stamped on those two ranged from 20 months ago to 6 months ago. 

Alice finished jotting down some notes and ideas that the passports triggered for her and then said, “Matthew, give Rose the names of the countries and dates that Lucien was in country. Have her check news stories about key events, assassinations, mayhem, whatever while he was there. Maybe a lead will emerge from that.” “Excellent idea, Alice, I mean Dr. Harvey,” Charlie told her. “Alice is fine, Charlie.”

Danny found military discharge papers inside one of the passports. Lucien was given credit for nearly two years of service, with several expert marksmanship and campaign ribbons, all paralleling the military passport countries. He had risen to the rank of Colonel when he was discharged on November 13.

Charlie removed a used one-way bus ticket from Canberra to Melbourne indicating he arrived about November 20. Lucien’s medical license was there, his army tags, stethoscope, some money, and a bank withdrawal slip from a bank in Melbourne. “Yes, here is a bank deposit book as well.” Charlie opened it, “The account was opened in January 1963, and has a balance in it – of several thousand pounds.” Matthew said, “You now have the name of the bank to visit. See if it is across the street from the Oriental Medicine shop like Lucien thought it was.”

Danny told Charlie and James, “We need to walk the area around the bank and Oriental Medicine Shop with Lucien’s picture and see if anyone has seen him. We will do the same with the area around the toy store. With long hair, a straggly beard and a limp, Lucien has to be a memorable character.”

Alice broke into the conversation, “You know we only have the bag of his clothing that he was wearing. Where are his Army clothes? Shouldn’t he have a duffle bag or a suitcase or something with more clothing? What about his journal? Phone numbers and addresses? A gun? Identification?” 

Matthew said, “Yes, he should have all those items, somewhere. Perhaps it is where he was sleeping – rough? a rooming house? a cheap hotel? abandoned building? We have to find that as well.” Danny told them, “I have a map with the areas in Melbourne that men are sleeping rough. James and Charlie will help me devise a plan of the areas to search.”

“You also should contact all other hospitals that handle veterans and see if he has visited one of them. His knee – well, my goodness, I really don’t know how he has been walking on it. We need to figure out where and when he injured it. That may give us more to add to the timeline you will be preparing. It could be close to where he is staying,” Alice said.

“Anything still in the ruck sack, Charlie? Did you find any hidden compartments like Lucien said might be there?” Matthew asked. “Found the compartments but nothing in them. Let me also tell you about his clothing. No labels in the shirt or pants. But the insoles of his boots came out easily and I found money in both of them and in one of them, a paper with two phone numbers – the Blake house and the Ballarat police station. So why didn’t he call Jean or you Matthew? I just don’t understand,” Charlie said, and the others looked as perplexed as he did. “Remember this morning. Lucien said he did not know the number for the house? His boots were sitting near the bed – had he forgotten what was in one of them? This memory issue of his could cause him great anxiety. We need to be very aware of what we ask him, how we respond to his questions, try to keep his anxiety at bay,” Alice told the three police officers. 

“Should I will tell Lucien what we found – or should I let him tell me? What do you think Dr. Harvey?” Charlie asked. “My first inclination is to let Lucien tell you, Charlie. Prompt him for more information, but don’t push. I think, as does Richard, that the memories will surface – and hopefully, he will grab onto them, process them – of course, at his own pace.”

Richard returned just before Matthew and Alice left for Ballarat. “Let me update you. Aaron Gage will be moved up here when he is stable. Got a real knock on the head and is still out of it. I have his wallet. Now the wallet – that was interesting, it was in the other guy’s pocket. Our Mystery Man is just that – no identification, not talking, needs stitches and a shoulder is dislocated. Police have been informed, they are in A&E, and will keep a guard on him. Danny and Charlie, you need to decide where to incarcerate him.“

“Alice, we should be on our way. You all know how to reach us. Be careful please,” Matthew said to them as he shook their hands. “We’ll let you know what we find on our walk around town, Boss,” Danny told Matthew. ‘Danny, if Charlie or James cannot be with you, be certain you have a trusted colleague with you at all times, alright?” “Yes, Boss, I will.” 

Constable Crowe drove Matthew and Alice back to Ballarat, to the Blake household, and they were met at the front door by Rose. “Uncle Matthew, how was Lucien when you left?” “Rose, let’s go inside and talk. We have not had dinner.” “Jean had some leftovers in the fridge. I will warm them up for us,” Rose told both Matthew and Alice. Alice put the kettle on and Matthew set the table. Once the food was on the table and they were all sitting down, Alice started talking. “Rose, Lucien is stable, he did recognize Jean, Matthew and me, Danny and Charlie. He was told he is in Melbourne but does not know how he got there. He did not remember any of the Melbourne grant team, so far. Charlie and Danny have several leads to chase down, including where the police found him, a bank deposit book, ear drops labelled in Chinese. They are searching locations where the homeless are sleeping rough. He had three passports, including a military one. Appears he has been in the Army. Only had a small ruck sack. No duffle bag, uniforms, etc. He has shared none of this with us, yet.”

Matthew picked up the conversation, “Danny and Charlie will be checking in each day. Rose, I hope you have found your notes on his disappearance. As we find out more, I want you to revisit locations, re-interview people, talk to the Group Session participants again who live near where the car was discovered. Alice has a meeting with the Melbourne docs on Friday and Jean has her second Friday in Melbourne working on the grant bookwork, as well as editing the next paper. I thought you and I would go with Alice and spend the day with Danny and Charlie, working on our timeline, comparing notes. You could see Jean and Lucien. Alice and I think by then they will need more clothing, as well.” 

“Uncle Matthew, what about looking at newspapers during this time frame, could Lucien have been in counterintelligence again? Could he have been ordered to kill someone? Could that story be in the paper?” “Good ideas, Rose, that is exactly what Alice suggested. I will send Bill Hobart your way to think through that angle and perhaps you could get him started on key events, news stories.”

“Alice, what do you think of Lucien’s mental state?” “Rose, it is very early. He seems quite anxious, agitated, large blocks of memories are not there, just yet. Working with Richard will be extremely important. I think he has a long recovery ahead of him. Physically, his back needs Jean’s attention. His left knee is quite swollen and is very painful. The ear drops are for a fungal infection, so he has been in a wet tropical country and the identity of the microbe will help locate where he spent time. Apparently, also needs some dental work.”

“Rose, this is privileged information, do not, do not, repeat this to anyone. It appears that Lucien has a recent head injury and is on some kind of drug cocktail. The levels have finally decreased to a point where he escaped or wandered away from someone or somewhere. They have a security detail around him at all times. Limited access to the area where he is. This afternoon someone, trying to pass himself off as a physician, tried to get to Lucien and Charlie and Danny stopped him from entering the suite of rooms,” Matthew told her. “Are they both alright?” Rose asked. “Yes, they seem to be, Rose,” Alice told her.

“How is Jean? How is she doing?” “Rose, she is very strong. They are watching her like a hawk. Lucien knew her by her touch – she put lotion on his back. He keeps his eyes on her, she holds his hands, talks to him, is keeping him calmer,” Matthew told her. “What about the episode she had this morning?” Rose asked Alice. “James and Hugh know about it and they were going to check her this afternoon and then follow up with her during the week. But, you know Rose, the strangest thing – at about the same time this morning, Lucien was finally conscious, and experienced a very similar cardiac episode. So they are following him as well. Very peculiar,” Alice told her. 

“I will not write a story for the _Courier_ at this time. We don’t know enough and we need time to figure out what happened to him. It is too early for a story,” Rose said to both Alice and Matthew. “Rose, thank you,” as Matthew hugged his niece.


	8. 26052

Ch. 8 26052 

Jean awakened from her short nap about 5:30 PM. She was about ready to get up from the single bed in Lucien’s room, when Carol and Diane entered. Diane, looking at Jean said, “Mrs. Blake, I hope you had a chance to rest. It has been quite a day for you. Let me introduce myself – I am Diane and I will be the night nurse for your husband. Carol and I want to talk with you about a dinner tray for yourself and some food options for Lucien.” “Diane, nice to meet you. Please call me Jean, Mrs. Blake is quite formal. Yes, dinner, that sounds very good to me, what choices do I have?” Jean was handed a menu for Saturday evening, picked several ala carte items and a pot of tea. 

Jean told Diane, “For Lucien, Hugh told me to stay simple for him, lots of liquids and maybe some soup, gelatin.” “Yes, Jean, our thoughts as well. But just remember, any time he wants something to eat, let us know. We will always have several options for him. I have gone over the orders for Lucien with Diane and I am on my way home. I will be back about 6 o’clock in the morning. See you then. I am so glad that Lucien is back and he knows who you are,” Carol told her. “Carol, thank you so much for taking on this special assignment. I appreciate it,” Jean said.

As the three of them were talking, Lucien began to move around in the bed. He smiled at times, hands moving like he was holding someone, began to mumble some, but what he was saying was not anything they could understand. Diane and Jean looked at Lucien, “Seems like he is starting to wake up, doesn’t it Jean?” Diane stated.

 _Maybe I am dreaming? I hear Jean’s voice – for the first time in months – but she cannot be real, this is a dream. I am not certain where I am, but my knee is certainly cold and it hurts, I don’t have on many clothes – just a pair of shorts? No boots? So then where is my money, my telephone number so I can call Jean? How do I get back to Ballarat? Our home?_

Jean noticed Lucien moving around some more in the bed, this time rubbing his back – _my back – it itches most of the time – don’t understand why, need some lotion – Yes, Jean’s lotion, I need her to apply it to my back, rub it in slowly, talk to me, kiss my neck, kiss my bare bum, tease me – well, so many times um that led to a playful romp in our bed, much laughter, loving my Jeannie, oh my, I miss her so much. How do I get back to her? Who do I ask to help me? Wait, she put lotion on my back this morning – yes, I think that is right. But how? This is just a dream and my love is not here – or is she? I am floating, drifting, keep hearing women’s voices nearby, how can that be? They sound like such sweet music to me. Where am I? Beginning to open my eyes – to what? Need to see where the voices are coming from – must open my eyes and take a peak. Be careful – Be cautious –_

 _Open my eyes very slowly, try to focus them, the room is dimly lit - my legs are covered with a sheet, left wrist and hand strapped on a board of some type, needles going into my forearm, knee in the air, knee so cold – is that Jean’s voice? If it is, my dream just keeps going on, like a film playing in a loop, even when my eyes are open – how can that happen? I don’t want it to stop, please don’t let it stop. I can see my Jeannie. Wait, she has turned toward me, smiling, yes smiling at me, green eyes dancing, so gorgeous, walking towards me, so beautiful, telling the world,_ “Lucien, you are awake! It’s me, Jean. I am here with you. Don’t be afraid.” 

Seeing Jean walk towards the bed, Lucien extended his hand towards her, touching her, “Jean, my love, you _are_ real, tell me this is not a dream, please, not a dream.” “Lucien, I am real, I am here with you, it is so good to see you smile, you know I love you. I am so glad you are here, you are safe, with me,” Jean told him, holding his hand, kissing it. “Jean, Jean – I am awake now, I don’t remember a lot yet, but I do know how much I love you, I want you to stay with me, I want us to be together again, I do,” Lucien told her, smiling, reaching for her face, wanting to simply stare into her eyes, forever. “Lucien, I know that, and I want to be with you as well,” Jean told him, with her eyes locked onto his. She moved closer to him and she kissed his face, his lips, and he return the affection with a passionate kiss, an ear to ear smile, and kissed her again. “Oh Jeannie, I have missed us, I have,” as he continued to stare into her eyes, her soul, her being. “I have –” Jean stopped, as the tears began to collect in her eyes. Lucien wiped the tears away and kept looking at her with such love, Jean was nearly overcome. 

After a few minutes, Lucien began to talk again, “Jean, so sorry, um practical matters to attend to, um I need to use the loo and my back itches like crazy – I need some more of your lotion on it. How are we going to do that?” Diane walked up to Lucien, “Good evening, Lucien, I am Diane. Carol just left for the evening and I am on all night with you. So, first things first, let me help you get your knee out of this contraption, swing your legs so they can dangle off of the side of the bed, and I will give you a urinal to use. Let’s keep this simple tonight. Sound good?” “Yes.” Once Lucien had emptied his bladder, Jean got the lotion out and began applying it. “Oh my goodness, that makes such a difference, Jean. Thank you.” 

Diane returned with a basin, some water, soap, a towel, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and both she and Jean helped him do a quick cleanup. With those tasks accomplished, Lucien was positioned back into the bed, Diane elevated his knee, added more cold compresses to it, and covered his legs with a sheet. 

“Now, Lucien, food choices for this evening. Do you need to hear what I have to offer or do you know what would you like to eat?” Diane asked him. “Um, let me think – big pot of hot tea, some water, yes, soup of some type, and a big piece of Jean’s chocolate cake – “ Lucien told them, with a twinkle in his eye. “No cake, not yet, Lucien. I will bring the other items for you and Jean’s tray. Then I will leave you two to eat without an audience,” Diane told them. “And, it was just beautiful to see the two of you reconnect. I should have left the room, but it was just – well it is so obvious you two are deeply in love. Welcome home, Lucien.” 

As they were eating, Lucien looked at Jean and asked her, “Talk to me about this morning – How did you know? How did you get here? Go over it with me, please. I want to know. Help me understand, Jean.” He reached for her hand to hold, stopped eating his soup. 

Jean looked at Lucien, smiled at him, and thought how much to tell him? How little to tell him? To satisfy him? Can’t frighten him, don’t want to overwhelm him with information. I am not Richard, but need to think of how he worked with me since Lucien disappeared. “Well, Lucien, um James called Matthew about 8 this morning and told him he thought you – yes, you, my love, as she kissed his hand -– were in hospital. James was overwhelmed, well um Lucien he had a very difficult time talking to Matthew. I packed my travel bag, Alice suggested we pack clothing for you, and we were on our way.”

Lucien stopped her. “Jean, wait, what if it wasn’t me?” “Alice told me we would return to Ballarat and wait.” “And the three of you – are very close friends – Alice, Matthew and you? It seemed that way this morning.” “Yes we are, we had to be, needed to stick together, to help each other, to survive your absence, kinda like the Three Musketeers or maybe at times like the Three Stooges,” Jean told him, with a giggle.

“Here is something interesting – Matthew had a police escort for us all the way to hospital. Fastest trip to Melbourne in my lifetime. Once here, James told us about your condition, how he wanted Alice and Matthew to interact with you first, and I watched from that window over there – pointing to the two way window – and you knew your wedding ring is missing, I saw the scars on your chest, your eyes – oh my your blue eyes – and then your back – Hugh and James had to hold me up. Lucien, I knew you would come back, but to see you in the flesh, well, it was overwhelming, it was. And it still is,” Jean told him, touching Lucien, still almost in disbelief she could feel him whenever she wanted to. She smiled again at him, kissed his hand. Let out a large sigh of relief.

“Jean, they made me figure out my name, I imagine you all thought I was – What? Why do I know Alice and Matthew and but not Joseph? I do know him, somehow, somewhere, he was so good with me during the night, read to me, held my hand, helped me clean up, he did not have to do any of that, so why did he? And Hugh told me the four of them stayed up all night with me – helped me – Why? He won’t tell me. Why? I think I know them all from somewhere, I think I do but –“ “Lucien, don’t overthink this. You have the idea, now let your labyrinthine brain, let your intellect work on it, chew on it, grind away on it. You will gain an understanding, in time, I know you will.” 

“Jean, I am still hungry. Do you think I can have more to eat?” Lucien asked. “Of course you can, let me tell Diane. More soup? Something else?” “Both soup and something else – let’s talk with Diane and see what else she has,” Lucien told her. “Lucien, Carol and Diane told me there will be food whenever you want it. Just liquids for a while and then work you up to soft food. Hugh and James want to be careful at first, don’t need an upset stomach do you?” “Jean, I knew that, but forgot it. Too much to process today for me,” Lucien said with a smile.

After Jean and Lucien had eaten their meals, Richard entered the room and stood by the bed. Jean was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Lucien’s hand. Richard picked up Jean’s other hand and held it and put his arm around her shoulders. He began to talk with both of them. “Lucien, do you know who I am?” “Yes, you are Richard. You were with me this morning and afternoon, right?” “Yes, that is right. Where are the others?” “Joseph has gone home to be with his family.” “Yes, I noticed he had on a wedding ring.” “Richard, what about James and Hugh?” “Lucien, they are both on this floor, taking a nap in the physicians lounge.” “Yes, of course, you were all up with me all night, spent most of the day with me. Did you get some sleep as well?” “Yes, I did Lucien, took a nap. I will be with you this evening, as will Diane. We are figuring out a rotation so one of us will be with you at all times.” 

“Jean and Lucien, let me tell you what happened this afternoon. A man, posing as a physician, Aaron Gage – who was supposed to talk with you – Lucien – about your ear infection – tried to enter this suite of patient rooms. Danny and Charlie tackled him, stopped him. He has no identification on him. But he did have a gun - that he did not use. So, when you leave this area, you will need Charlie or Danny or a member of the security detail with you.” 

“Richard, are Danny and Charlie alright? What is going on?” Jean asked him. “They appear to be fine. We don’t know what is going on,” Richard said. “But what are you thinking? I can sense there is more to this,” Lucien said. “Yes, there is. Lucien, you have a head injury, a skull fracture, suffered about six to eight weeks ago, and you are also on a drug cocktail.” 

“What are you talking about, Richard?” as Lucien felt his head and found one area that was quite tender. “Lucien, we do not know if you are self-medicating or if someone is giving drugs to you. Don’t know how long this has been going on or what specific drugs, but you still have three classes of drugs in your system even now. James started sampling your blood and urine when you arrived in A&E. He had a gut feel about you when you arrived – something was off. Lots of IV fluids running through you has helped with the dehydration as well as decrease the drug concentrations. We think the levels are down enough to let you start to function more on your own. As I said earlier, we are concerned someone might try to abduct you again. So for now, a security detail will be with you. There will be identification needed to enter this suite as well,” Richard finished.

“Do you recall any of this, Lucien? Can you tell me how you hit your head or who hit you, I mean, really hit you hard? Now, Aaron Gage was knocked cold this afternoon. I told you, he was supposed to do a consult with you on your ear infection. But before he got here to see you, he got a real smack to the head. Could be similar to what happened to you. I want you to think about this and see if any ideas surface. When they do, let us know,” Richard told him. “Richard, as of now, I just don’t remember, I just don’t,” Lucien told Richard, as he reached for Jean’s hand, pulled it to his lips and kissed it gently, looked into her eyes. “Lucien, I do not expect you to have an answer now, think on it,” Richard told him.

It was about 8 PM, Lucien was yawning at times, but still wanted to talk. He had chatted with Jean and Richard for nearly an hour about his knee, his back, how he was feeling, what he was thinking about, trying to figure out when and where he got hit in the head. He kept feeling his head and Richard asked, “Can I feel your head?” “Of course, Richard,” as Lucien placed his fingers on the very tender area of his head. After several minutes of feeling his head, checking his reflexes, Richard wrote notes into Lucien’s record and then told Lucien, “If this is six weeks or so after your injury, you suffered quite a whack, Lucien.” 

Lucien still had not determined who Richard was, except he was someone easy to talk to and someone who was helping Jean. Richard was still holding Jean’s hand, she looked at him at times, smiled at him. They obviously knew each other. He was keeping the two of them calm – appeared to be a good physician as well.

Charlie and Danny knocked on the door and came in to check on Lucien. “What have you two figured out about the contents of my ruck sack?” he asked them. “Danny, wait, what is going on with your face? You are getting a black eye!” Lucien, asked him, sounding like a physician, for the first time. “Come here, let me look at you,” he said. “Oh Doc, I am fine. When Charlie and I tackled that guy earlier today, I was on the bottom of the pile and both the guy and Charlie were on top of my face – when we all hit the floor. Kinda sore, but, -“ Danny started to explain. “Danny, come here, now,” Lucien ordered him. Danny walked to the bedside, Lucien looked at his face, pressed on a couple of areas, and Danny tried to pull away from him. “Ouch, Doc, you are very heavy handed on my sore cheek,” he told him. “Don’t think anything is broken, but you need a couple of cold packs on it, now, my friend,” Lucien said with a grin. Richard left the room and came back with Diane who had several cold packs, some for Lucien’s knee as well as Danny’s face. Diane repacked Lucien’s knee and made certain he was as comfortable as possible with his leg elevated. 

“Boss, we have inventoried your ruck sack. There was a bank book, and it is for the bank across the street from the Oriental Medicine Shop. A passport – “ Charlie told him. “Just one, I thought there were three,” Lucien told him. “Yes, there are three, Doc. Do you know why?” Danny asked. “Um, well, um, no, I really don’t,” Lucien answered, shaking his head, slowly back and forth. 

“Tell us about the ear drops,” Charlie asked Lucien. “Got them at the Oriental Medicine Shop, near the hospital, have had an ear infection for weeks, got it when I was in um, um, hot, sticky, rainy, um well that is not much help is it? Sorry. Also got meds for malaria. He is really not feeling well. Would not take his preventive meds when we were in Cambodia. Yes, Cambodia – that is where I developed the ear infection.” Richard shook his head at the way Lucien was accessing information, taking cues from what he heard, what he knew. Charlie wrote in his notes to check which passport was in Cambodia, in the last couple of months. Might help place Lucien and the other guy – maybe important, maybe not.

Charlie asked, “Boss, who are we talking about?” “Um, um, well, you know ah Charlie, well, um Bloody Hell, I don’t know his name, I just don’t remember. I know I do not have malaria,” Lucien told him.

Richard jumped into the conversation, seeing if he could get a trail of ‘crumbs’ established for Lucien to follow, to help him identify the person, give them more information. “Lucien, can you describe him to us? Body size, nationality, eye color, way he walks, hair color, left handed, right handed – you know, things like that.” “Richard, um, I, um, yes, I can try. He is from Perth, shorter than me, brown hair, no beard, wears a slouch hat, but name, I just do not know, and, um, this is so maddening, Richard, I guess that is all I can tell you now.” “But Lucien, you can access memories a variety of ways. We will keep asking you, in a different context, and see if these memories are there. Remember when Matthew asked you about the bank, you did not know the name but you could describe the building in great detail. And you just gave us a variety of information about the guy. Don’t get angry at yourself.”

Charlie and Danny looked at each other. Both realized that the guy with the slouch hat – could he be part of the duo they were going to look for earlier on Saturday? And of course, Lucien had a beard and was taller. Are those two – Lucien and the slouch hat guy – no way, could that be the case? Well, they had lucked out on the ear drops being from nearby at the Oriental Medicine Shop. 

With a thunderstorm brewing outside, the room became darker, Lucien became anxious and agitated. Thunder and lightning increased in intensity and added to Lucien’s anxiety. “Richard, I feel so anxious, so strange. What is going on with me?” Richard had the lights turned on, and asked Lucien to try and tell him how he was feeling. Jean stayed in his line of vision so he could always see her, hoping he would begin to calm down. Lucien’s hands were beginning to clench into fists and then relax, clench, release. Richard warned Jean to stay away from his reach in case he lashed out at them. Jean asked him, “Lucien, talk to me. What can we do to help you?” 

“Jean, Jean, where is Robert? Need to find him. He has fever, maybe malaria. Need to help him. Where is my ruck sack? My duffle bag? My medical supplies? Can’t see him. Where am I? Why am I here?” Jean looked at Richard, Danny and Charlie, searching her memories of who Robert might be. A patient? A former POW with Lucien? Worked for Matthew in Ballarat? Someone Lucien had sent to prison? 

“Richard, anyone named Robert in camp with you and Lucien come to mind?” “Sorry, no help from me. Can’t come up with anyone, Jean.” “Charlie, Danny, what about working in Ballarat with you and Matthew?” “Probably, let us think about it.” Jean, thinking aloud, “could it be one of the many patients in Ballarat, in the POW group, people he put in prison – oh my, how are we going to figure this out for Lucien?” 

Lucien then began talking again, in fits and spurts – “Army number 26052, yes 26052. Where is he?” Jean looked at Charlie, Danny and Richard, then at Lucien. “No, NO, it cannot be.” Fear was written all over Jean’s face. Richard could see that Jean had a name, an incident, something to tell them all. Taking a deep breath, Jean asked, “Lucien, listen to me. Do you mean the man that tried to kill you in your father’s office when you first came back to Ballarat? The man that I held at bay with my Christopher’s gun? Is that who you are talking about?” Lucien did not answer her but said, “3rd Regiment, 4th Division, yes, Jean, yes.” Richard looked at her with questions, concerns, “Jean, who are we talking about?”

“His name is Sgt. Robert Hannam. It was one of Lucien’s first murder cases in Ballarat. I think the Army protected him – I don’t think he ever went to prison. Bert Prentice, the morgue attendant at Ballarat hospital, was found dead on the floor. If I remember right, one blow, from a left-handed killer, his windpipe crushed, he fell and hit his head. Something about radiation poisoning, Major Derek Alderton, stealing a body, bloody boot prints in the morgue, found Hannam’s bloody boots in his hotel room, in our house wanting Lucien dead and me dead too. Call Matthew, ask him.” 

“Auntie Jean, yes, I remember that case, and I remember what Hannam looks like as well,” Danny told her, finally putting together the pieces. Richard looked at Jean and shook his head. If there was any doubt in his mind about how strong Jean was, it was dispelled by that story. Jean Blake was just incredible. We have to get Lucien back for her.

Charlie asked Lucien, “Lucien, can you tell me where you last saw Sgt. Hannam? Did he have a high fever from the malaria? We need to find him and get him to hospital.” Lucien could not help him, just wild looks, confused looks, eyes darting in several directions, increasing agitation. 

Jean looked at Danny, “Do you think Matthew still has the file, a picture of Hannam? We need to find out what he remembers. You must be very careful with him – he is a killer.” Lucien was listening to the conversation and added, “Yes, he is a killer but we have been together for months. He has saved my life and I have saved his. But when he has an order to complete, he will do it.” 

The name finally registered with Charlie. “Lucien and Jean, wait, wait, is this the Hannam who shot Llewellyn Sullivan at the Ballarat police station? Sullivan killed Derek Alderton at the Ballarat Observatory, right? They tried to frame you Lucien. The last time I heard of him, he was in army custody for that killing.” “Yes, it is, Charlie. That is the man.” “So, they let him off again?” “Obviously, Charlie, they did,” Lucien said.

“Yes, he and another bloke took me away from Ballarat, I could not escape from them, I tried, I did, Jean. I tried so many times. We were in airplanes, so long, so tired, tied up, so confused,” Lucien mumbled, started sobbing. Jean walked to his side and held his hand, put her face next to his, whispered into his ear, “Lucien, I know you would not have left on your own. I have always known that. I know you would do all that you could to come back to me. No matter how long it took. And you have. You are here, my darling boy.” Jean stayed next to him, holding his hand, caressing his beard, kissing his face. “Oh, my handsome boy, I am so glad you are back. We will help you figure all of this out, we will. We must.” 

In the midst of the conversation, Diane approached Richard and asked if she should bring a sedative for Lucien. Richard quickly wrote down what he wanted and she slipped out of the room. When she returned, Richard walked up unnoticed by Lucien to the IV line, added the medication. Lucien began calming down, resting, and then falling asleep. “We will get back to unpacking more of this later. You have you marching orders tonight. Let’s let Lucien get some rest. You need to find a picture of Hannam and try to locate him. I bet he is in Melbourne, sleeping rough, with two duffle bags and his own ruck sack, and he has a high fever. Let’s call Matthew with this new information,” Richard stated, like the military officer he once was. “Diane, thank you for reading my mind. I appreciate it,” Richard told her.

“Yes, Richard, we also have the picture of Lucien. We will use it to see if any one recognizes him, and I think that could lead us to Hannam,” Danny told them. “Charlie and Danny, please be very careful. Understood?” Jean told them both. “Yes, Jean and Richard, we will be. I am going to ask James to go with us,” Charlie said. “And I will get Hugh to come in and stay the night with Lucien. He should be out the rest of the night, but Lucien Blake – well, he always has been a force to be reckoned with,” Richard told Jean.

“I must call Matthew about this tonight,” Jean told the group. Richard took Jean to a telephone, and despite the late hour, she called home. After three rings, the telephone was answered with a gruff, “Lawson speaking.” “Matthew, it is Jean. Lucien remembers some of what happened to him. It was Hannam. Hannam!” “Hannam? Are you certain, Jean?” “Yes, Matthew, he knew his Army number, 26052. He kidnapped Lucien and forced him to leave Ballarat. There was another man involved as well, no details yet on who he is yet. Hannam is in Melbourne now, travelling with Lucien. Danny, Charlie, and James are going out looking for him. Both Danny and Charlie know what he looked like from years ago. Could you see if you still have a photograph of him? Get it down here for the Melbourne police. I told the three of them to be very, very careful.”

“Jean, Alice wants to talk with Richard. Is he nearby?” “Yes Matthew he is and I am handing him the telephone now.” “Richard McCoy speaking. How can I help you Alice?” “Richard, I have been thinking about Lucien, Aaron Gage and the mystery man and well, this may sound off the wall but well, here is my idea. I think you should carefully compare the skull films of Lucien and Aaron Gage. See if the skull fractures are similar in any way – location, depth of fracture, use of a similar implement – This could be the _modus operandi_ of the mystery man. And it could link the mystery man to Lucien in ways we still need to determine,” Alice told him. “Alice, oh yes, an excellent idea, honed by years of serving as a police surgeon., I would imagine. I will get the films and bring them to Ballarat on Tuesday. We can compare them and discuss your idea in more depth then. I will let James and Hugh know about your suggestion as well,” Richard told her.

“Matthew, Rose, Bill Hobart and I will be discussing the evidence we have accumulated on Lucien’s disappearance tomorrow. Matthew and I have some new ideas based on the contents of Lucien’s ruck sack and we want Rose to talk to us again about her interviews. Matthew wants Bill to be the liaison between our investigation in Ballarat and Melbourne. I will let you know what develops,” Alice told Richard. 

After Jean and Richard had completed the call, Diane approached them. “Dr. McCoy, could I talk to you and Mrs. Blake? Carol told me about some of what is going on and we both want to understand the situation more fully.” “Diane, let’s go into the lounge and let me explain. Jean, I will take care of this,” Richard said. “Thank you, Richard, for all of the help tonight with Lucien. I am going back to our room,” Jean told him.


	9. 5 AM Sunday Morning

Chapter 9 5 AM Sunday morning 

The room was very quiet, dimly lit, and Lucien could not hear Jean’s voice. As he started to awaken, he felt that he was not safe. Needed to be cautious, to be careful. Did not know why - but must be alert. Then he heard someone breathing nearby, who? Was not Robert, he knew that much. But he had forgotten what Jean sounded like when she was sleeping deeply, could be her, maybe – maybe not, but he could not remember clearly. His knee was cold, leg still hung in the air on that damn contraption, part of his left arm and hand on a board, some of his lower body covered with a sheet, no boots, just shorts. Where were his clothes? His back was itching once again and he still could not figure out who was sleeping nearby. Could not see the person. Or maybe there were two people in the room besides him? Yes, that was what was confusing him. Yes, two people. Who were they? Maybe Jean and and who? Triggered by a random noise in the room, his anxiety began to increase – alright, Lucien, just stay calm, as he tried to talk himself down, stay quiet, but all at once he felt, he knew – he was losing control – his response was to roar awake, like a lion, shouting, “Where am I? What is wrong with my knee? It hurts, oh damn, it hurts.” 

Immediately, Hugh was startled awake at the loud voice and was quickly at Lucien’s bedside. “Good Morning. I am Hugh. Lucien, look at me – I am Hugh. You are in hospital, there are a team of us helping you, do you remember me?” “Um, Yes, Hugh, I remember now. I woke you up, didn’t I?” “Lucien, my goodness, that is an understatement and then some,” Hugh told him, still rubbing his eyes, getting his bearings. “Is Jean still here? Please tell me she is, Hugh.” “Yes, I am Lucien. You were so loud, much louder than any alarm clock, my land, what were you thinking?” Jean told him as she walked up to the bed, still trying to wake up. She held his hand and kissed it. “Lucien, I need to use the loo, comb my unruly hair, and I will be right back. Hugh and I are here for you.” 

Diane came charging into the room, “What – is – going – on? I could hear your shouting in the hallway, Lucien. How can I help?” “I am so sorry, I really, really um – “ Lucien simply shook his head, in disbelief. “I, I was frightened, forgot where I was, if anyone was here to help me, I am just a bloody mess, I am sorry,” as he pushed his hair down in his familiar nervous gesture. “Lucien, we are all here to help. I know it has only been about 24 hours since you were first awake, here in hospital. We need to give you some time to re-orient yourself, get your bearings – but my – well, you scared all three of us.” “I apologize to all of you, I am so sorry, um, I hope this does not happen again,” Lucien told them. “I am so embarrassed.”

“Lucien, while Jean is taking care of her business, why don’t you use the urinal? It is right here. I just need to get your knee out of the contraption it is in, swing your legs off of the bed. That way you do not need to struggle with the crutches,” Hugh said to Lucien. “Yes, Hugh, that would be much easier for me. That is the way we did it last evening as well.” 

Jean returned to the bedside about the same time that Diane and Hugh were helping Lucien get comfortable in the bed. Hugh started to return Lucien’s left leg to the elevated position, “No, Hugh, I want to scooch over a bit more and invite my girl to climb in, beside me, I need to hold her, I really do.” “Yes, Lucien, but let’s not tell Gus Wilson about your antics, alright?” 

Diane arranged some pillows to place his leg on, so it was elevated in a manner of speaking, and repacked his knee. “Now, boys,” Diane told Hugh and Lucien, “Gus will be here in a couple of hours and we should get your leg - pointing at Lucien - back in his contraption before then. Don’t want him complaining at all of us this morning, right?” “Yes, madam, I can live with that suggestion,” Lucien told her, with a grin. Hugh and Diane went to the side of the room, were reading Lucien’s chart, writing notes, talking about his care for the morning, and then left the room. “Behave yourselves. Just remember, there is a two way window over there, and we will be keeping a ‘medical’ eye on the two of you,” Hugh told them, with a devious grin starting to develop. 

Jean got in bed with Lucien, pulled the sheet up to their necks, and then snuggled into his warm body, trailing her hands over the bare skin of his chest. “Jean, what you are doing? Oh my, that feels so nice. Thank goodness you don’t have that ugly pink robe on you used to wear,” Lucien told her with a grin, teasing eyebrows. “Lucien Blake, just what are you thinking?” Jean asked him, taking his hand and kissing it. Lucien kissed her, smiled at her, held her face, and kissed her again. “Lucien, I have wanted to do this since yesterday, but there has always been an audience – glad Hugh and Diane left for a few minutes. You are alive, with me, and -” Lucien felt her tears on his chest and held her close to him. 

“I am sorry I yelled so loud this morning. Got so anxious, so scared, so – can’t control – need to –” “Lucien, you have only been in hospital for a day, still recovering from I don’t know what, you have some leave way, for a while. But try to remember, we are all here to help you, keep you safe.” “I think I know that, but when I first wake up, I am just a bumbling fool, so anxious, frightened, of what? I don’t know,” Lucien told her.

“You feel so good to me, Jean, you do. I missed holding you, talking to you, I missed everything about you and me, us, everything. I thought I would never see you, feel you next to me again. I am so glad you did not go back to Ballarat last night. You must stay with me, please.” “Lucien, I told you I would stay with you. I am here. I have waited for you to return and I am not leaving you. I don’t want you out of my sight,” Jean told him, hoping he would believe her, not doubt her. “I hope you get tired of me looking at you, admiring you, smiling at you, kissing you, I do, Lucien.”

“Jean, talk to me some more. I, um I fell asleep so fast last night, I think Richard must have slipped me a ‘mickey’ or something, did he?” “Yes, he did. There was a thunderstorm that went on for a couple of hours, and during it, you remembered some things about Robert Hannam, got terribly upset and Richard decided you, well he um, calmed you down, and you went to sleep. It is now about 5 AM, Sunday morning, in hospital in Melbourne. Hugh stayed with us last night,” Jean told him. “Yes, I remember some of the Hannam discussion. Still can’t remember where he is staying, where we were sleeping rough,” Lucien told her.

“Lucien, do you want me to put lotion on your back? There is a large container of it on the night stand next to your bedside.” “Jean, I would be so grateful if you did. I do remember how you worked with my back, night after night. I think we need to get in that habit once again.” “Do you want to roll onto your side or belly? Which is easier for you, Lucien?” “With this monster brace on my knee, let me get on my side. Please put on a lot of lotion, make it stop itching so much, please,” Lucien told her, kissing her hands as he got onto his side. After Jean had worked for nearly 20 minutes, she had covered his back twice with lotion. Lucien barely said a word during this time, despite the fact she was telling him some of the current news and gossip of Ballarat. 

When she was finished, Jean discovered he was asleep. Jean playfully punched him in the arm and chest, “Lucien Blake, wake up. And I thought you missed me! Now I am not so certain.” Lucien woke up to being punched and laughed at. But it was Jean’s voice, her laughter, his Jeannie, and he was not afraid. Then he started to say something serious and thought better of it. “Alright, Mrs. Blake, you have started something that I intend to finish.” He rolled onto his back and held her arm so she could not get off of the bed. 

Lucien held Jean close to him, they laughed and talked for several minutes. Then in rearranging herself to get even closer to Lucien, Jean moved her neck in an unusual way and she gasped. “Jean, did I hurt you? Your neck? Who has been helping you with it? Do you have your meds to take? Doing your exercises?” “Lucien, I just moved my neck and shoulders in a weird way and my neck rebelled. Joseph is helping me with it.” “Joseph! Joseph? Really? I thought he just delivered babies. Where did he learn to work on your neck?” Lucien asked her. Jean thought to herself, tread carefully on this, because Lucien was training him on alternative techniques and Jean’s neck was the ‘guinea pig’ for the two of them, and she hoped he would remember that. But apparently he did not. 

Thankfully, Jean did not need to explain her neck because Hugh re-entered the room with some lab supplies and told Lucien, “We need to draw bloods this morning. I would like to do it now. Is that alright?” “Certainly, Hugh. And Hugh, I have a lower molar that is bothering me. Think it may need a filling. Can you line up a dentist for me?” “You know, we have a trip to the dentist already on the books for first thing Monday morning.” “Good. Thank you, Hugh.” “Here is the pain med for your knee and I imagine now for your tooth. Take it for me with plenty of water, alright? Let me do the bloods now.”

“Hugh, thank you. And I need to get Jean some meds for her neck.” Jean’s glance and raised eyebrow look to Hugh to keep quiet was understood very quickly. They let Lucien plow ahead even through Joseph gave her new supplies yesterday. Lucien struggled trying to remember what he wanted to prescribe, basically got nowhere, until Hugh gave him his pharmacopeia. Even with it, Lucien struggled. Hugh said, “Lucien, give me the drug class and I will find the pages for you to study.” “Jean needs a pain killer.” Hugh found the page, gave the book to Lucien who ran his finger down the page. “Yes this one, this one here, but not so much, because Jean needs just half the dose.” Hugh wrote it down on a script pad and Lucien returned the book to Hugh. “I need a muscle relaxer too.” Hugh found the page, gave the book back to Lucien and he found what he wanted. “Hugh, this one, but half dose again. Can you get Jean these two scripts, Hugh?” “Of course, I can, Lucien. I will put the order in this morning.” 

“Hugh, how do I know this? That Jean needs these medications, what dosage? How do I know that?” Jean looked at Lucien and reminded him about what Richard said last evening. “Don’t push too hard Lucien, let your brain work on it. You will remember, you will.” Lucien then began to massage Jean’s neck. “Lucien, please don’t stop, oh my, not yet. I am so glad you remember how to do this.” “Jean, maybe muscle memory is different.” “Please don’t stop. Joseph is good, but you, you are a miracle worker with my neck. Thank you.” “My pleasure, my love.”

About 20 minutes later, Joseph entered the room and found Jean and Lucien still in bed, holding each other, talking to Hugh. “Good Morning, everyone.” Lucien asked Joseph, “I understand that you are helping Jean with her neck. Is that right?” Jean broadcast another eyebrow look at Joseph. He too picked up the clue. “Yes, Lucien, I have. I have worked with a practitioner here in Melbourne to expand my repertory of treatment options. How is she doing this morning?” “I needed to prescribe some medications for her, Hugh helped me.” “Good. I am certain Jean’s neck is feeling the stress – of your disappearance and now of your return.” Joseph looked at Jean, and they were both thinking, well Joseph didn’t exactly lie. Lucien was working with him, when he was in Melbourne at the monthly meetings of the POW grant participants. Lucien just did not remember it, yet. And Joseph knew Jean had new bottles of the medications she needed in her purse, so did Hugh and James.

A little while later, James opened the door to Lucien’s room, checking to see if anyone was awake. “Yes, Hugh, Lucien and Jean are awake,” James told Danny and Charlie. The three of them walked into the room; they looked hot, wind-blown, and were sweating. Charlie approached Lucien, and said, “Boss, do you remember what our task was last night?” “Um Yes, Charlie, you were going to look for Robert Hannam. Did you find him?” “No, we did not. We have walked ourselves out. Lots of leads, but no Robert Hannam. We will go back tonight and walk a different area. We all need to cleanup - we are a bit fragrant, thirsty and very hungry.” “We are going to use the Physician’s showers, change clothes, and will be back up to talk to you,” James told them. “Danny, get some cold packs from Diane or Carol for your face. You are headed for a colorful shiner, my friend,” Lucien told him, with a grin on his face. ‘Yes, Doc, I will.” 

Walking over to Lucien’s bed, James looked at both Jean and Lucien, “Good to see you up Lucien, you look much better than yesterday at this time, and even better to see Jean in the clutches of her good doctor.” “What did James mean Jean?” “Lucien, remember what Richard told you last night. Let that idea percolate and see if you can figure it out.” “You are forcing me to think, to remember, to get involved in solving my own disappearance, aren’t you, Jean?” “Yes, I am, so get busy thinking for me, for all of us.“

“Hugh, can I talk to you in the hallway a minute. Joseph, will you stay until Hugh gets back?” Once in the hallway, James asked, “What is your opinion this morning, Hugh?” “He woke up at 5 AM – well, he woke all of us up, shouting – very confused, anxious, but quickly figured out what was going on. Wanted Jean in his arms – figured that would at least settle him, and it did more than that, he wanted to prescribe meds for her neck. Jean and I let him struggle until he did. A small victory. We were right to schedule a trip to the dentist tomorrow. Lower molar that Joseph spotted is bothering him. Bloods drawn for electrolyte balance, a urine sample for drug levels. I am here until Richard returns. Gave him pain med for his knee. Look at the notes - You should read Alice’s suggestion about his skull fracture. Very interesting idea. She told Richard about it last evening. I have both Lucien and Aaron’s films on the illiuminator for us to talk about. My goodness you need to take a shower! Off you go. I will stay with Lucien. Come back and we will talk.” 

Carol entered the room about 7 o’clock and told them that she was on duty, Diane had left for home, and asked if anyone wanted some breakfast. Hugh immediately said, “Of course, I do, full breakfast with a pot of tea. And I do thank you for asking.” Jean decided on scrambled eggs, toast and tea. “Lucien, what would you like?” “Um, well, not much in breakfast food that is liquid that I like, so can I have something like eggs, maybe porridge, and tea?” Hugh looked at him, grinned, and said, “Very different than yesterday, Lucien, when you had a very hard time with food choices. Carol, that sounds fine to me, acting as his physician for the hour.” “This has to be my first time working with a patient who has four, maybe five physicians, on a rotating basis. I will get used to it. Joseph, full breakfast for you as well?” “Carol, that would be lovely. Called in to deliver a beautiful little girl this morning. Have not had time to get to the cafeteria yet.”

Charlie and Danny returned to Lucien’s room after cleaning up and eating breakfast. They wanted to unpack the search last evening and used the map of the Melbourne city centre. They had focused their search around the Oriental Medicine Shop and the bank. They showed Lucien their map, pointed out where they were, where they had searched, and talked about where they were going to search later in the day. Several men living rough had seen both Lucien and Robert, memorable at first because of the guy with slouch hat but later because Lucien was limping, seemed to them limping worse each time they saw him. “Lucien, the last time you were in that area was Thursday when you were really limping. You did not have a walking stick, it was getting so hot and sticky, and you were by yourself, had no water with you. You really looked red in the face and very sweaty. They were all pretty certain you and Robert were not sleeping rough in the area we searched last night,” Danny told him. 

“Thank you for looking for him. Please be careful when you go out again. Why is James helping you? I thought he was a physician here,” Lucien said. Danny looked at his Auntie Jean, and started slowly. “Well, Lucien, Charlie and I know James pretty well. He –” Jean interrupted him, “Lucien, let’s let Charlie and Danny get back to work. I am certain they will be back later tonight and talk about the next area they are going to search.” “Alright, Jean. That sounds fine to me.” Jean walked them out the door, and Danny said, “Thank you for saving me. I just did not know what to say.” Jean gave both of them a kiss on the cheek and told them to be careful. 

After cleaning up and changing into his ‘physician’ attire, James returned to Lucien’s room. Carol still had breakfast fare in the warmer and James eagerly ate it while chatting with Jean, Hugh and Lucien. “Lucien, now that I am cleaned up and replenished, can I do a physical exam on you this morning?” “Yes. I imagine Hugh and Diane wrote about my outrageous behavior this morning. I do not have an adequate explanation. I do not understand my over the top response, James, I just don’t. I have apologized profusely to all involved.“ “What I want to do is concentrate on your skull fracture, your neurological responses. Want to see what progress you have made since admission. Is that alright?” “Of course. Richard talked to me last night about my tender skull. Here, let me show you.” 

James felt his skull, compared his findings to Richard’s, and jotted down notes. He then checked his neurological responses, compared his findings to his admission notes. Then he looked at Lucien, thought about Alice’s suggestion, trying to decide if he should tell him what she was thinking, or not. Lucien had only been here about 30 hours, really should not ask him to be the incredible physician James knew he was – after all, he was drugged, had a skull fracture, was on pain medication for his knee injury, was dehydrated – not really appropriate. That was true for anyone but _my_ Major. Wait, I will get Hugh and Jean involved as well. Jean could help us walk through this discovery. 

“Lucien, Hugh and Jean, I want to show you the skull films we took yesterday. They are on the illuminator over here on the wall. Let Hugh and I get your crutches Lucien and help you walk over there.” Jean got his dressing gown from the travel bag. “Here, Lucien, why don’t you slip this on while you are out of bed?” “Good idea, Jean. Thank you.”

Once Lucien was near the illuminator, James placed the first film so they could all look at it. “Lucien, so what do you see here?” “Fracture is the same area as my still tender skull. I imagine it could be my film because the fracture is healing. But I see no name on it,” Lucien told him. After removing the first film James put up the second film. “Now, take a look at this film. “Same general area, but seems like a fresh fracture to me. Again, no name on the film,” Lucien told him.

Jean looked at James and asked, “Can I give you my ideas on these films?” “Of course, Jean, fire away.” “Well, if these are indeed different individuals, with similar skull fractures, then couldn’t the perpetrator be the same person? Or is that making too much of an assumption?” “James and Hugh, who do these films belong to?” Lucien asked. James started to answer the question, “The healing fracture is your skull and the second one, is –“ “Well, if Jean’s analysis is spot on, which I assume it is – I remember that she always was smarter than me – then it would be what’s his name, the ear fellow who was supposed to see me, right?” “Yes, it is. His name is Aaron Gage,” Hugh answered. “Well, I’ll be damned. So what kind of implement? What are we thinking?” Lucien asked the group. 

“Alice proposed this type of skull fracture could be the Mystery Man’s _MO_ and she may well be right,” Richard told them. No one had noticed that Carol, Gus and he had entered the room during the conversation. Gus looked at Lucien and stated, “Needs to be compact, easy to carry and conceal, packs a real punch, maybe the butt end of a revolver?” “Did anyone check the mystery man’s gun yet?” Richard asked. “I gave the gun to Matthew. I will find out who has it now, maybe Charlie or Danny,” James added.

Gus looked at the group and pointed at Lucien. Trying to keep a straight face, “I leave orders for my patient – you, Lucien Blake, to stay in bed, keep your knee elevated – and none of this trio of physicians have encouraged you to follow orders this morning, have they?” No one answered Gus. Simply looked at each other. “I um will get back in bed, Gus. Don’t blame any of these folks for me ignoring your orders. My knee is hurting. I will get back into bed, right now.” 

Once Lucien was back in bed, Gus took the brace off, felt his knee, rotated it some, until he heard Lucien’s ‘Bloody Hell, Gus’ several times, and then asked Carol to pack the knee in cold packs and he replaced the brace. He elevated Lucien’s leg and looked at him. “Now, please keep the leg elevated, preferably like this but if you are out of bed, perhaps in that chair over there, a pile of pillows will do. Do not stand up, even on crutches, for any length of time. That kind of behavior will lead to many more days with this heavy brace and this contraption.” “Yes, Gus, Yes, I understand. I am just a dreadful patient, already, aren’t I?” “Agreed, Lucien, agreed.”

“Wait, wait, I um, yes, my head, um I got hit when Robert and I were in Cambodia, ear infection, malaria. Had to take care of each other. Don’t know who. Didn’t see. Hannam helped me, hid me. Head hurt so bad. Noises so loud. Lights so bright,” Lucien blurted out. Richard asked him “Do you recall how long ago this was, Lucien?” “Um, well, ah, no I don’t.” Jean entered the conversation, ”Look at his passports and see when he was in Cambodia, when he left country. Maybe that will help us figure out a possible timeframe when he had the skull fracture.” ‘Yes, Jean, excellent idea,” James told her.” “And we need to call Alice and Matthew and tell them what happened this morning,” Hugh told the group. “I will do that right now.”

“Please, Hugh, do not tell Alice about my waking everyone up this morning, with my shouting at 5 AM, please don’t tell her that.”


	10. A Look in the Mirror

Ch. 10 A Look in the Mirror 

While Lucien was sleeping, Hugh called Alice. He updated her on the discoveries made about the x-ray films of Lucien and Aaron’s head injuries. “Alice, you had a good idea about the injuries. And, Jean was right in the middle of the discussion. It is so obvious how much she has learned from discussions over the years with both you and Lucien. Lucien even told her ‘she was always smarter than he was’ and none of us corrected him,” he said with a laugh. Alice chuckled, “Hugh, she is - no doubt in my mind either.”

“Hugh, add in the conversations with Matthew as well. We do a great deal of grinding away on cases during dinner or over drinks after dinner. Jean is quite talented, a good investigative skill just lurking under the surface. Finally getting the opportunity to show it,” Alice told him, obviously tooting Jean’s whistle.

Alice asked about Lucien’s medical state and Hugh filled in the morning’s happenings, but he did not tell her about Lucien’s screaming start to the day. Hugh was battling an ethical dilemma – Alice was his physician as were several others. She was the only one who did not have immediate access to his records. But Lucien had asked him not to tell her. Why? Hugh did not have a reasonable explanation. He would encourage Lucien to tell Alice himself when he felt better. But if the screaming start to the day continued, Hugh would tell her, despite what Lucien wanted him. Additionally, Hugh thought he would talk with Richard this afternoon. Richard could help him figure out what to do. Alice was going to call at least once, if not twice a day. He could tell her later tonight if need be.

Jean got on the phone and talked to Alice as well. They chatted about her episode the morning before, how she slept, did they need anything, assured Jean they had plenty to eat at the Blake house. Alice reminded Jean to take a break anytime Lucien was asleep, get out of the room, walk the floor to exercise, and to eat when food it was provided. “Jean, I heard about the skull fracture discussion. Hugh said you were holding your own on this.” “Yes, Alice, I jumped in without thinking. Kinda like what I did with organizing the POW grant and writing the papers. I just needed the chance to show it.” “Jean, take care of yourself. Need to think about the long haul here – Lucien will be in Melbourne for two or three weeks, I imagine. We will call tonight and chat again, alright?” “Yes, Alice, please do.”

Charlie returned with a set of photographs to give to James and had duplicates for Richard to give to Matthew. “James, we have several – Robert Hannam, the Mystery Man, Aaron Gage, and Bill Hobart. We wanted a ringer – Hobart – in the mix so if anyone identifies Bill as the assailant or whatever, we know they are very confused. Here is the one of Lucien before the beard trim and haircut. I am not certain he is ready to see what he looked like on admission.” “Charlie, I don’t think I will share that one of Lucien even with Jean. He was nearly at the end of his rope when he collapsed. You know, we could have missed him, lost him, totally. Still hard to figure why and how he ended up here,” James said. 

“By the way, how is Gage?” Charlie asked James. “Aaron is still waking up. He had a powerful knock on the head. We looked at the films of both Lucien and Gage this morning – same type of skull fracture – and that is why the gun is now moved to the top of the list for analysis.” 

“James, Danny has the mystery man’s gun and is getting forensics to look at it with him. He should have some information by tomorrow. We are also working on background information on him and Gage,” Charlie told his good friend.

Lucien woke from his short nap to the sound of the shower running. Carol was in the room with him and was standing next to the bed, holding his hand when he finally opened his eyes. “Lucien, Lucien, look at me. Do you know who I am?” He looked at her, rubbed his eyes as he woke up, “Yes, you are Carol. I didn’t scream did I? I am trying not to be frightened like I was earlier, but it is so hard. Um, well, Jean, is she here?” “Lucien, do you hear the shower?” “Yes, I do.” “She is cleaning up, taking a leisurely shower and will be out soon. Would you like to have me help you get into the shower?” Carol asked him. 

“I don’t know if I can remember what to do. Yesterday I was totally clueless about it,” Lucien told her. Carol posed the question to Lucien, “What if we ask Jean to help you? How does that sound?” “Yes, perhaps that would be good. You know, I haven’t had the chance to clean up on any schedule for so long –” Lucien started to explain as Jean walked out of the bathroom. 

“Well, look who is finally awake,” Jean told Lucien. Smiling at Jean, Lucien told her, “And I did not scream this time, Jean. I was close to it, but I didn’t. Carol said I could clean up. Would you help me? Joseph had to tell me what to do, but I think I can figure more of it out today. At least I hope so.” 

Carol removed the brace from Lucien’s knee, helped him out of the bed, into the wheelchair and rolled him into the shower. He remembered how to use the crutches to get seated on the shower bench. Jean handed him a bar of soap and he began soaping himself up, cursing at his knee. Jean saw the size of it and told him, “Lucien, it is a less swollen today than it was yesterday.” “Jean, do you think so? It certainly looks bad doesn’t it. Going to take days to get back to a normal size, if it ever does.” “Do you think Gus will do surgery on it?” “Jean, I hope not - I will use crutches for a couple of months before I let him do anything. This is the knee I really tore up in when I was in Medical School in Scotland. Maybe hard to do a decent repair on it.” 

“Ready for the shampoo? Your hair and beard will be much easier to do today.” “Do you know Joseph tried for several minutes to get the shampoo out of my hair yesterday. I as so glad Hugh had a barber come over and cut, really cut, my hair back. Much easier today.” “I brought your beard trimming supplies from home. Do you want me to trim it for you or do you recall what you did?” “Jean, I think you will need to show me, remind me. Do you think it needs more than Joseph did? “Yes, Lucien, I do. Not faulting Joseph, but I imagine it was a long, tangled mess for him to work with. Let’s dry you off and then let me work on it. I think if you stand by the sink and the mirror, you can help me with the length you want.”

Lucien dried off, put on his dressing gown, and used his crutches to position himself by the sink and the mirror. As he looked at his image in the mirror, his mouth dropped open, he stared at himself, and teared up a bit. “Jean, is this really me? I barely recognize myself, so much thinner than I remember, look so tired, worn out, more grey than brown in my hair and my beard – my goodness, it is so grey. How did James know it was me? With long hair and beard, how?” “Your back, Lucien.” “Well, I glad he figured it out and I am here. I am not hungry, not hot, and not thirsty like I have been the last few weeks. And you are here with me. Thank you for being with me, Jean.” 

“What do you think, did I trim it enough, need more off?” “Jean it is fine. Looks very good. Do you know what I just remembered?” Jean shook her head no, smiled at him, kissed his face and lips. “The day you cut my hair, in the sunroom, looking at your plants, especially the orangey reddish spinisso thingy, yes Gold Tooth something or other.” “Lucien, do you mean my _Aloe spinosissima_ or Gold Tooth Aloe that I transplanted from Christopher and my farm?“ “Yes Jean, that is what I said,” Lucien replied with a silly grin on his face. “ You know I had the feeling that morning that I had moved in a direction, um that would keep your eyebrow from giving me the look and maybe you would stay with me, help me. We really glared and stared at each other at first didn’t we, Jean?” “Yes we did and I was so surprised when we began to enjoy each other’s company, a kiss, conversation, - well, I was very glad I was a slow decision maker and stayed in the Blake house.” “I was as well, my love.”

By late morning, Lucien was sitting in the easy chair, with his knee covered in cold packs and the huge brace back on it, propped up on pillows like Gus demanded, his legs covered by a blanket. Jean was sitting nearby. She was reading to him from the Sunday paper and they were drinking tea, talking about happenings in Ballarat since he was gone. 

The door opened slowly and in dashed a small boy, who ran to Jean, “Auntie Jean, we came to visit you!” “Blake, I am so glad you are here. And your Mother came with you, right?” as Jean hugged him and let him sit on her lap. Lucien simply stared at the youngster who obviously liked Jean. Blake whispered something in Jean’s ear, and she talked to him. Lucien could see him staring at him. Then whispering to Jean again. He was a cute young man, well mannered, and pretty precocious it seemed to him.

Mattie walked in just behind the him, carrying a little girl. “Is that Mattie? Mattie!” “Yes, it is Lucien. And this is Jenny.” Mattie walked over to Lucien and gave him a kiss, “We missed you so much, we all need you back and feeling better.” “Jenny? Jenny! Oh my, she is so beautiful, Mattie. She is. My goodness me,” Lucien told her, trying to figure out when she got married, to whom, why he did not recall that she was a mother.

“Can I, Auntie Jean?” “Of course.” The little boy got off of Jean’s lap and walked right up to Lucien and looked at him and told him, “Hello, I am Blake. That is my momma and my little sister, Jenny,” as he pointed to them. Then, he picked up the blanket and looked closely at Lucien’s lower right leg, felt the bullet wound, covered up his leg. “And you are my Uncle Lucien. I brought two books. I will read you a story. Which one?” Lucien looked at Blake and then Jean, selected a story book and then said, “What about this one, Blake?” 

Blake looked at him, sat on the edge of the chair, and read him the story. Lucien listened quietly, smiling frequently at Mattie and Jean. When Blake finished, he looked very seriously at Lucien and said, “You do not feel good, do you, Uncle Lucien?” “Well, um, um, Blake what do you mean?” “Before, you always told me stories, let me sit on your lap, played with me, made me giggle. Today, you are not any fun, Uncle Lucien.” Lucien looked at Jean, with a quizzical look on his face, like what am I supposed to say? Or do? “Um, if you say so, Blake. Maybe, in a few days, I will feel better.” “Uncle Lucien, ask Daddy to make you better.”

Richard McCoy strolled into the room, said “Good day, Major, Mattie and Jean.” “Uncle Richard,” Blake exclaimed, as he ran to Richard. Richard picked up Blake and held him. “Your daddy told me you would be here and I wanted to see you and Jenny and your mother. And I needed to hug you,” as they danced in a circle and hugged each other. Blake giggled as Richard tickled him. 

Richard sat down near Lucien, put Blake on his lap, and asked him how he felt this morning. Lucien looked at Richard, “Why did you call me Major?” Richard had slipped up by calling Lucien ‘Major’ and needed to back pedal very quickly. “Well, we looked up your medical records here at hospital and you were listed as being a Major in the army.” “Oh really? If you say so. You were here last evening for a while, weren’t you? I still can’t remember where I have been, how I got here. I know now that I got hit in the head, but can’t tell you who did it. Bits and pieces are all so jumbled up.” “Richard, Jean, help me remember please. I want to so badly but –” 

Richard started talking to Lucien, “Tell me some things that you do remember.” “I am a physician and surgeon, I am married to Jean, we live in Ballarat, Mattie used to live with us, Matthew and Alice are our friends and they came with Jean yesterday. James, Hugh, Joseph and you helped me when I arrived in A&E. I had a Surgery in Ballarat. Jean what happened to it?” Lucien asked, with some distress in his voice. 

“Alice is covering for you. She sees your patients every day,” Jean told him. “That’s good. What about our POW patients – are they seeing her?” Lucien asked. “Some are, but others are seeing James and Hugh. Group sessions are handled by Richard and Joseph. Rose and I handle the group session for the ladies. Mattie is up twice a month to work with Alice. I still go to Melbourne to serve as the grant administrator and attend the meetings,” Jean told him. 

“That all seems so well organized, I must have been gone a while. So how long have I been away?” Blake was listening intently and said, “Uncle Lucien – ‘Momma, give me my picture’ – look – he pointed at a small child in Lucien’s arms at the beach – that’s me, that’s you. You missed two of my birthday parties. I have a birthday very soon. Come to my party, please.”

Lucien looked at Richard in disbelief. Richard said, “Look at me, Lucien. Focus on me. We will get you through this. We will. You need to breathe slowly, here, hold my hands and breathe.” “Oh, Jean, what has happened to me?” “Lucien, listen to Richard. He is here to help you, you do not need to do all of this by yourself. Remember, in the Blake household we help each other, make each day easier for each other,” Jean reminded him. Lucien seemed to settle a bit, looking at Jean and then Mattie. 

Blake looked at Lucien, got off of Richard’s lap, walked up to Lucien, and told him, “I love you, I want you to know that, Uncle Lucien,” as he patted his hand. “You can hold my hand any time you want to, Uncle Lucien. You can.” “Thank you Blake. I will remember that.” 

Mattie told Lucien, “Blake rides the train to your house every other Tuesday morning with me and Jenny. I work with Alice, seeing some of the POW patients. We see Richard there too. I let Blake ride back to town on the train with Richard the next day.” “I stay with Auntie Jean. She has a really big bedroom and she lets me sleep with her in her big bed,” Blake told his Uncle Lucien, stretching his arms as wide as he possibly could. 

“Jean, how are you this morning?” “Richard – hard to sleep with all of the noise in the hall way, staff in and out of this room, but I am doing pretty good. Lucien helped me with my neck this morning.” “Yes, I heard.” 

Jenny got fussy, wanted down from Mattie’s lap, tootled to Jean who held her, talked to her. Then she pointed at Lucien. Jean put her down and she walked over to Lucien. He picked her up. She snuggled into his neck, started chewing on her hand. Mattie walked up and gave Lucien some teething gel from the local chemist shop. “Here, see if this will settle her down. This isn’t the same one we used on Blake – we ran out of it.” Jenny fell asleep, slobbering onto Lucien’s chest. Mattie added a diaper under Jenny’s head to catch the saliva. “Lucien, you had the touch with Blake and now with Jenny. She does not even know who you are and look at this. I can’t recall a time when Blake was fussy that you could not calm him down in record time,” Mattie told Lucien. “Thank you so much, Lucien.”

Joseph knocked on the door, entered the room, Blake dashed to him. “Daddy, Uncle Lucien is holding Jenny. But he does not feel good. Uncle Richard is here too.” Joseph walked over to Lucien, “Good morning Major, again. Good to see you sitting up.” “Joseph, I am a Colonel now, I just remembered that. Don’t know when that happened or why.” “You will always be Major to me,” Joseph said as he laid his hand on Lucien’s shoulder. Joseph picked up Blake and held him. Blake hugged his neck and then smiled down at Lucien. 

“Joseph, are you Blake and Jenny’s father? Are you married to Mattie?” “Yes, Sir, I am.” “Well, I, I – so um um, when?” Mattie pulled out two of their wedding pictures and handed them to Lucien. “Here is the proof, Lucien.” As Lucien looked at the first one, he said, pointing at the people in the photograph, “That is you, Mattie, looking so beautiful, and Joseph, yes, very handsome, Jean and me? – why, that is our back yard in Ballarat, isn’t it?” Joseph said proudly, “Yes, Major, you and Jean stood up with us.” “Really? Jean and me?” Jean smiled at Lucien and told him, “Yes, Lucien. We had a marvelous party for Joseph and Mattie. They spent a week up at the cabin for their honeymoon.” “Jean’s Place?” “Yes, of course, Lucien.” “Well, I’ll be, Jean’s Place. So, Mattie, did I put in an indoor loo by then for you?” “Of course not, Lucien.”

Lucien looked at the second wedding picture. This one was of the four of them plus Danny and Matthew as well as the Melbourne contingent of James, Hugh and Richard. Lucien looked at it, put his hand behind his head, straightened his hair, shook his head, and haltingly said, “I know all of you, don’t I? _All – of – you!_ And you let me struggle with my name, with where I live, with the medications for Jean’s neck, with um with – “ He continued to shake his head, caught his breath and wiped his eyes with his hand. “Richard, I needed to do that, didn’t I? I need to remember who I am, myself.” “Yes Lucien, I thought you did.” 

“Joseph, wait a minute. My beard. You knew how to trim it because you know me. You know me! You know me – not just from the wedding, your best man, the grant, don’t you?” “Yes, Major, that is correct.” “And James, Hugh, and Richard – I know all of them from what, what, I know this, I do, I do, because of, um, well, I had it figured out, I did, but it is gone. This is so bloody maddening.” Richard reached for Lucien’s hand, held it, “Don’t force the memories. They will come up to the surface again, try to hang onto to them, the next time, and the next time. You are making incredible headway, Major, you are. Do not get angry with yourself.”

“February 14 th, 1960 – yes, yes, that is the date, isn’t it Mattie?” Lucien said as he looked at Mattie, with a grin beginning to envelope his entire face. “Yes, I am right! I know I am!” Mattie got up and walked over to Lucien and gave him a big hug, buried her head into his shoulder, he wrapped his arms around her, and then as she stood up, she kissed him on the cheek. “Yes, Lucien, that is the date.” “I knew it, I did. And, and, um, your parents were very upset with you and Joseph. They wanted a proper long engagement, all types of showers, a society wedding in Melbourne, an expensive honeymoon, and you two asked us to help you. And we did, a very nice, small wedding ‘do’ in our back yard, Jean’s Place for your getaway, and they held a big party society thing in Melbourne several weeks later, if I remember right. Joseph, is that right?” “Yes Major, you are spot on. And naming our first born ‘Blake’ after you, Lucien, well, um did cause a bit of a problem as well. Then when we named our daughter, Jenny, after your mother, well, it all started again. So, Mattie and the kids and I spend a good deal of time at the Blake house – with Jean. It will be so good to have you there, again, with us. You and Jean – well, are very special to both of us,” Joseph told his Major. Lucien just looked at Joseph and Mattie, and said, “I am so, so –” Joseph gave Lucien a hug and told him, “I have missed you, Major, I have. Please fight your way back to all of us.”

“Lucien, I will be in to see you a couple of times each day and we will chat. You write down what you do remember, tell Jean or any of us, and I will help you,” Richard told him. “Richard and Joseph – I had a ruck sack with me and Charlie and Danny have it, right? Where are my boots? I also have a duffle bag with all of my gear. Has that been found yet?” Richard pointed to Lucien’s boots sitting on a side bench. “There are your boots, and we found –” Before Richard could finish his sentence, Lucien interrupted him, “I hope my money was still there.” “Yes it was, Lucien. And what else was with the money?” Richard asked him. With a perplexed look Lucien told him, “Um, ah, well, I don’t know, Richard. Let me think about it.”

“Richard, I have talked with you before haven’t I? You helped Joseph when he stayed with us for a week. You have helped my patients in Ballarat too. You come to our house, eat dinner with us, and stay with us, don’t you?” Richard smiled, “Yes, Lucien I did and still do. And do you realize how much you recalled this morning?” “Charlie and Danny will be back later and you can ask them about your gear.”

Jenny, still sleeping on Lucien’s chest, woke up a little, “Lou Lou?” “What dear?” “Luv.” “Me too, Jenny.” Lucien kissed the child’s head, and tears fell from his eyes. “Thank all of you for caring, for helping me. So much work, hard work, to do, to remember. Please don’t give up on me.” “Never, Lucien, my love, never,” Jean told him, smiling at him, holding his hand, wiping his tears, with her hand.


	11. More questions than answers

Ch. 11 More questions than answers 

Sunday afternoon in Ballarat found Bill, Rose, Matthew and Alice sitting around the Blake kitchen table, drinking tea and talking and eating the last of Jean’s biscuits. “Uncle Matthew, what are you going to nibble on while Jean is in Melbourne?” Rose asked, with a smile, looking at her Uncle. “Rose, Jean has spoiled him for years. Missing a few weeks of her biscuits will not damage him, despite how much he whines,” Alice said, looking at Matthew, smiling at him. “Rose, I think you should ask the Thursday group session ladies to bring biscuits for me. What about that?” Matthew told her. ‘’For a start, I will check the freezer. Jean may have frozen some treats and there may just be enough to get you to Thursday,” Rose told him. “And I could ask them to resupply your biscuits, Uncle Matthew, but I really think you should.” “Yes, Rose, and that way I can request exactly what I want,” Matthew chuckled as he told the group his plan.

Despite the levity to the start of their meeting, Matthew had a serious agenda in mind. He wanted all of them to think, to discuss, to brainstorm, to try to unpack what they knew about Lucien’s disappearance, what questions they needed to pursue, how and where to get the answers they would seek. 

As Matthew requested, Rose found all of her notes from the time of Lucien’s disappearance. She told them of the many interviews she completed, how hard it was to get any pertinent and relevant information. On reflection, the only interview that seemed strange to her now was the one with old man Henderson, who lived out in the country, west of Ballarat. He had a house and land with a somewhat hidden location for ramps, stock pens, and vehicles – so a truck could back up to his ramps and load and unload animals without being seen from the road. He really avoided answering questions, finally talked to her, but told her little of any value. She still did not know what to make of Henderson. 

“Uncle Matthew and Bill, maybe the fact Henderson was so evasive is now important. What do you think?” Rose asked them. Bill answered quickly and suggested that Henderson should be approached again – this time, in an official capacity. Bill said he would take care of it in the morning. Alice told Rose, “Excellent idea, Rose. Bill, you will follow up, right?” “Dr. Harvey got it written down. I will find him tomorrow. Rose let me see your interview notes so I can figure out my questions.” “Definitely, Bill.”

Matthew went second in the conversation. He continued to think about a person whom Lucien had help put in jail, but that did not make any real sense to him. He said to the group, “You know, I have helped with so many of the same investigations – why didn’t they take both of us. Why just Lucien?” Alice added, “So, what is different about you and Lucien?” “What isn’t?” Matthew answered, “Think about his stint in undercover, his ability to decipher code, the fact he killed at least two people, his rushing in without regard for life or limb, how much more do you need to hear, Alice?” 

“Well, Matthew, you rushed in without regard for life or limb, and you saved Charlie’s life but trashed your leg, so I am not certain that you and Lucien are that different with regard to that point,” Alice told him. “Alice, your point is well taken. But I did keep Charlie from getting badly injured. So you think my leg is trashed – haven’t heard that medical term before.” “Well, it isn’t a very descriptive term is it? But there are many items to factor into his disappearance,” Alice said. “And Matthew, you may be on to something here. Let’s keep Lucien’s backstory in mind. Come back to it.”

“Alright, another direction I have been thinking about is Robert Hannam. What about Derek Alderton and Robert Hannam? Bill, do you remember when Alderton was trying to get Lucien back in the field? I know Alice and Rose were not here in Ballarat at that time. When Lucien first returned to Ballarat, Derek was doing his best to get him back in the army, in intelligence again and then later when Frank Carlyle was here, Derek tried again. He was murdered by Llewellyn Sullivan in the Ballarat Observatory and then Hannam killed Sullivan, right outside of our police station. I am pretty certain Sullivan was Spec Op for the army. Hannam was taken away by the army, twice, and after the second time, I had lost track of him. From what Lucien remembered last night, Hannam was not in jail, but was involved in Lucien’s abduction. They have been traveling together for a couple of years. Danny, Charlie and James looked for him last night, but did not locate him. Lucien thinks he is very ill with malaria,” Matthew continued unpacking what he knew, thought he knew. Rose was busy scribing what he was saying, hoping that something he said would give her some new leads, new ideas to think about.

“Uncle Matthew, will the Army tell you anything about where Hannam is now? Or will that alert them to where Lucien and Hannam are? Is that a good idea or a bad idea? How else can you find out information without asking them?” Rose asked. Alice looked at both Matthew and Rose, and said, “Do you two know where you two are taking this conversation? Is this a conspiracy? I think there has to be a more logical explanation. Don’t go off of the rails, you two.” 

“Alright, Alice, I understand your reluctance to accept what I have suggested. But, everyone, here is another idea I am considering. We need to think about this backstory angle some more. Now, Lucien killed two foreign agents before he returned to Ballarat. What about that? Maybe friends, family, other governments – are taking revenge on him? Somehow, we need to find out about those two agents. Again, don’t know if asking the Army is a good idea or a bad one, at this point in time. Maybe Jean or Rose can help me with this. Lucien might have notebooks or journals that we could go through. I need to ask Jean and see if she has anything in storage we could work with,” Matthew told them, scratching his head as he finished. Alice asked Rose, “How can we access news accounts about the two killings or would their murders even be in the papers?” “Alice, the murders are probably not going to be reported. Perhaps Bill and I can do some initial work once Jean gives us some ideas of when and where these murders occurred. Let’s see what we can discover. Will involve working in a location with international newspapers, a library, maybe Melbourne or Sydney,” Rose told the group.

“Maybe Lucien’s disappearance is just a random event, something happened and – well nothing ever happened to Lucien that was just random, but maybe. Don’t know,” Matthew explained to the group. And then he continued, “Should I will try again with the officials in Canberra? The last time I asked them, they never acknowledged that Lucien was in the Army again. Never said a word – ‘couldn’t possibility comment’ – was the best I got out of them. Was that a positive response? Could that be what happened to Lucien? The fact he seemingly ‘vanished’ without a trace suggested it might be a Special Ops thing to me. I just don’t know.” 

“So, Boss, where are all of these musings, ideas, possibilities taking you?” Bill asked. Matthew told him, “I have a gut feel that the Army is somehow involved. Of course, I have no evidence to verify that fact. You know, I have thought many times about why and how the Army claimed Lucien, once again. Why did they want him? Being in WW2, a POW, an undercover intelligence agent – wasn’t that enough for any one person? Lucien and Jean were creating a life together in Ballarat and – Well, all of this just makes me so bloody angry I could just –“ “Matthew, just try and stay focused on finding Lucien. Your anger may take you into areas that make no logical sense,” Alice told him, reaching for his hand, realizing how much of a state he had worked himself into.

Alice started talking about Aaron Gage. “Let me start a new line of thinking. Aaron Gage was supposed to do a consult on Lucien’s ear infection on Saturday afternoon. When the impersonator showed up and Danny and Charlie stopped him, I was somewhat convinced something sinister was going on with Lucien. We need to find out from Danny and Charlie about the fingerprints of both of them, background checks, etc. Bill, can you follow up on that? We need to find out when Gage can be interviewed. Our Mystery Man had no ID and has not said a word. Lots of background work to be done on him. We know our mystery man or a colleague of his was in the A&E Saturday morning when James called Gage and talked to him. Danny is interviewing people in A&E and we need to find out what he knows.” “Dr. Harvey, I will follow up on this,” Bill stated.

“I talked to Hugh this morning. They all studied the x-ray films of Lucien and Aaron’s skull fractures. Both of those fractures were almost in the same location. Gus was in the room and suggested the butt end of a gun might cause that type of damage. Danny has forensics checking the gun that our mystery man had. Bill write that down as something more to follow up on,” Alice told them. “Who figured this all out, Alice?” Bill asked. “Well, it was Lucien and Jean – in a tag team approach – from what Hugh told me. Gus was in the room to check Lucien’s knee and even he got interested in the x-ray films,” Alice said.

Bill asked Alice, “How can we independently verify who Gage is? I think we need to use more than what the Military Hospital has on file, what James told you.” “That is correct, Bill. You could contact the medical licensing board, the London School of Tropical Medicine and his medical school,” Alice suggested. “Bill, I will help you on this part of our investigation,” Rose told him.

“Boss, wait a minute, wait. Rose take notes on this for me. You know when William Munro replaced you, he was really on Lucien’s case, trying to trip him up, trying to force him to resign, even trying to get him fired. Charlie was loyal to Lucien and me, well I made a bad choice, I was loyal to Munro. Munro developed a dossier on Lucien, gathering up information on his trips to China, as well as his post-war intelligence file. I think the information about the two men Lucien killed was a part of it. Now when Munro left in disgrace and you were injured, Frank Carlyle came to Ballarat, he discovered the file. After realizing what it was, he protected Lucien by literally filing it away – here in Ballarat. I don’t think he threw it away but I really do not know what he did with it. Could I try to contact him and ask him where he put it? Maybe I can find it? What do you think?” Bill told the group. “Bill, this is an excellent lead. Matthew, how do we contact Frank? Should we contact him? Can we trust him?” Alice said. 

Matthew took a drink of his very cold tea. “Need a warm up, Rose, please. Bill, you and I are going to the Police Station. I have Frank’s contact information there. We will call from the station. I want a secure line – I remember Charlie telling me that this phone line was tapped when Alderton was back the second time in Ballarat. Let me drink some more tea and we will be on our way,” Matthew said. 

Once at the Police Station, Matthew went to an isolated office, pulled out his book of telephone numbers and called Frank. Frank was no longer a police officer and was surprised to hear from Matthew. They chatted a bit and then Matthew asked him about Lucien’s dossier, but did not tell him why he needed it. He thought, the less Frank knew, the better. Frank gave him a couple of ideas of where to look in the Ballarat Police Station. Matthew told him one day we will talk about why I want the dossier, but not today. 

“Bill, you need to look in the old files in the storage room, the filing cabinet has S-Z on the front of it. Could be several of them. Frank randomly stuck it in there - somewhere. Could be even inside another folder. Let’s hope no one realized the file was not in alphabetical order and rearranged the files, even moved it,” Matthew told Bill. “Are you gonna help me, Boss?” Bill asked. “You bet I am,” Matthew told him. “Boss, thank you for letting me get involved. I know Blake and I have had our differences, that I was ready to beat on him when he first returned to Ballarat, and even later, but no one, I mean no one, should be treated the way he and Jean have been. No one.” 

After several hours of searching and many cups of tea, Bill discovered the file. Yes, it was in the S-Z file cabinet but there were four of them labeled S-Z. Bill happened to be working on the correct one. Matthew shook his hand and then gave him a hug, “Well done, Bill, thank you.” Bill had discovered the file, and it was lying flat, with dozens of other files on top of it. Frank had disguised its location very well. 

“Bill, we need to make a photocopy of this folder and then secure both of the folders. Make certain no one, I mean no one, sees what you are doing,” Matthew told him. “Yes, I understand, Boss. Now where is our secure location? The police station? Our safe? Bank vault? What and where do you have in mind? We also need to get a copy to Charlie and Danny in Melbourne. How do you suggest we accomplish that?” Bill asked him. “You make the copies. I will think about this,” Matthew told him. 

Matthew sat in the small isolated office and began to think. Just what have you, Lucien Blake, got all of us mixed up in? Need to stay away from conspiracy ideas, like Alice told me. Don’t go off of the rails, Matthew. Need evidence, hard proof, must make logical sense. Blake, I am going to need your labyrinthine brain, working on all cylinders to unpack this. Just what happened to you? I need to contact Danny and Charlie about what we talked about – and what we discovered here – and make plans to get a copy to them.

“Alright, Boss, made the copy. Now, here is my idea. Put the original folder with blank paper back in the drawer the way we found it. Put one copy in the backroom safe, with only the two of us knowing the combination. Then fold the other copy in half, put it inside my shirt and we go back to the Blake house,” Bill told Matthew. “Good ideas Bill. There is a safe in the Blake house as well and after we study this, we will store it there. Again just the two of us with the combination, and of course Jean, but she is out of the house now. Call Peter Crowe, tell him to get a weapon and meet us at the house. He will stay the night with us,” Matthew said. “Boss, is this overkill? Are we off the rails, like Dr. Harvey said we were?” “Bill, I just do not know.”

When Matthew and Bill returned to the Blake house, they could smell the odor of food coming from the kitchen. Either Alice or Rose had placed one of Jean’s casseroles in the oven to warm for dinner, the tea kettle was whistling, and they heard Rose and Alice chatting as they were chopping something, probably a green salad. “Just in time, you two. Dinner will be on the table in about ten minutes,” Rose told them. 

“Successful trip?” Alice asked. “Yes, indeed. I am hungry. Let’s eat first. Set another place at the table. Constable Crowe will be coming for dinner as well,” Matthew told them. “Uncle Matthew, are you going to tell us anything?” “No, not yet Rose. Bill and I have some more unpacking to do with the dossier before we get you two and your problem solving skills involved.”


	12. Camp Memories

Author’s note: I know that Channel 7 cancelled _Blake Mysteries_ yesterday. However, these characters are still in my head, needing this story to continue. Here is the next chapter. Thank you for reading.

Chapter 12 Camp Memories 

After Richard, Joseph and Mattie and the children left the room, Jean took Lucien’s hand in hers, moved it slowly to her lips, watching his eyes follow her, kissed it gently, and told him, “Lucien, you did remember quite a bit this morning. You know that, right?” “Yes, Jean, compared to yesterday, when I was still figuring out who I was, I agree. But I want it faster than this,” Lucien told her, kissing her hand. “I want to be with you, like we were, but first I need to get rid of all of the drugs from my system, get my memories back. Figure out where I have been, why I left Ballarat, left you, my love. Explain everything to you. I do not want to be a burden to you.” 

“Lucien, you are in a hurry – please slow down. Let Richard, James, Gus and Hugh manage your recovery. That is their job and they want to help you. They will plot out a plan that will have you in our home in Ballarat very soon. I know that with all of my heart.” “Jean, I hope so. Um Jean – Can I really kiss you? Please?” “Of course, my handsome boy, of course.” 

Jean got up from her chair and sat down next to Lucien. He took her face in his hands, smiled at her, tilted her head towards his, and slowly began to kiss her, then she responded eagerly, needing to feel his lips, longing for him, their lips opened and a deep, intense, passionate kiss began. They both pulled back a bit, looked at each other, smiling, shaking their heads. Lucien leaned back in the chair, grinning at Jean, eyebrows moving up and down, “Oh my goodness, yes, um, that even stirred up Radcliffe, do you know that? Been so long since he, um, well you know, I thought he had deserted me,” Lucien said with a grin beginning to cover his entire face. “Um Yes, Jean, thank you.” “Lucien, I, I um – you are here for me, aren’t you? I had forgotten how easily we get worked up, wanting to do more, makes me think of our trips to Melbourne before we were wed. My goodness gracious. Am I blushing? Am I red in the face?” “Of course you are, my dearest Jean. Want to do more, my love?” Lucien asked, eyebrows dancing, smiling.

Just then the door opened and Carol entered with a cart of food for the two of them. She could see some lipstick on Lucien’s face, Jean red in the face, and smiled, knowingly, at Jean. “I imagine you have missed each other so much. I will knock louder and give you a warning next time I come in, especially if you are by yourselves. Now, food, Jean here is what you selected for lunch, and Lucien, a half dozen soft food items that Hugh picked for you. Remember, if this is not enough food for you, let me know. I have more for you.” Carol left to let them eat without an audience. 

“Jean, I remember that damn telephone interpreting us so many times, knocks on the front door – everyone seemed to know when I wanted to hold you, kiss you, love you. Now it is the knock on this door,” Lucien told her, smiling. As Jean was eating her lunch slowly, Lucien seemed to be devouring his. “Jean, I am going to need some more to eat. I think my appetite is coming back quicker than Hugh predicted it would. Maybe I can actually get some real food soon. In my mind, I can smell your lamb roast, I really can – I would like that to be my first meal at home. Would you do that for me?” “Yes, I will remember that. I have not prepared lamb for months. Made me remember how much I missed you. Just too hard.” 

“Would you join me in my bed this afternoon, Jean? I want to take a nap, really getting tired. I need to talk some more, if we fall asleep, we’ll be together. Is that alright with you?” “Sounds very good to me, I was awakened very abruptly this morning by someone, who shall remain nameless, shouting as loudly as he could.” “Yes, that would be me, wouldn’t it? I really was a mess. Hope that is the first and last time.” 

They walked to the bed, Lucien got in first, Jean hooked his leg onto the apparatus to elevate his knee, and then got in next to him. They hugged, cuddled, and smiled at each other. “Jean, if I have been away for two years or so, tell me what your life has been like – what are you doing?” “I have missed you so much – somedays I was on an even keel and others, oh my goodness, in the depths – but um I have had a support system extraordinaire who have helped me so much. Lucien it is hard to imagine a group of people who are any better friends than we have. Alice, Matthew and Rose have been so much help to me in Ballarat. Would you believe it – Alice and I have become such good friends.” “Alice, out of the morgue, and friends with you, that is very interesting. And she and Matthew are together, that is even harder for me to believe.”

“I have worked in your surgery with all of them – Lucien, all of your current physicians spend time in Ballarat, at our house and in your surgery. I am very involved with the POW grant in Melbourne, written and edited several papers, as well as prepared the grant renewal. Kept that lot doing their bookwork for me, too,” she said with a smile and a kiss to Lucien’s lips. “I was never very good at that was I?” Lucien told her, grinning. “But you were trainable and it was always such fun to impress on you how I wanted the bookwork completed,” Jean told him, with a raised eyebrow, a smile, and invite. “And just how did you train me, my darling?” 

Jean pulled the sheet up over their heads and began to – “Jean my goodness, don’t you remember that I am um ah – well, would you look at that!” “What my handsome boy, what do you want to tell me?” “I love you Jeannie, my goodness, we have missed you, oh so much.“

“Jeannie, you know that I love you. I have so much to remember. I know it will take time, but I want it, want it to happen now. How can I ever explain to you? Apologize to you? I must do that, so you will trust me,” Lucien tearfully told her, held her close to him. He began squirming in the bed. “Back itches again, Jean. Will you help me?” “Of course, let me get the lotion, turn on your side and let me apply it.” “Jeannie, thank you. This makes such a difference. Will you stay with me this afternoon? I am really getting sleepy now,” Lucien asked. “Of course, my love. I am here – got to promise no roaring wakeup call this time, alright?” “I think if I have you in my arms, no screaming start. At least I hope so.”

Hugh walked into the Physician’s Lounge with some lunch and found Richard updating Lucien’s and Aaron’s records. “Richard, got some time to talk with me?” “Of course Hugh, what is on your mind?” “Well, I made a decision this morning and now am having second thoughts. You know that Lucien woke us all up with his screaming, being very frightened, and and he asked me not to tell Alice. I agreed. I talked to Alice later in the morning and I did not tell her. And I should have – after all she is his physician in Ballarat, and does not have access to his records, like we all do. What would you have done Richard?” 

“Your loyalty to Lucien is several decades in length, right Hugh? Alice is a recent acquaintance. But she is a consummate professional, you work with her on a weekly basis, and she is also Lucien’s physician. Lucien is not himself at this point in time. What he asked you to do – in my opinion, you could not honor. I think you need to tell Alice about his behavior this morning and also apologize to her for keeping her out of the loop. She has always had good insights into our patients and we need to keep the channels open for conversation about our friend and colleague, Major Blake. You asked for my read on this, and there it is. Of course, agree or disagree, as you wish,” Richard told him. “Thank you, Richard for your counsel. I see your point and I will think about it.”

About an hour after Lucien and Jean laid down, James walked into the room to check on Lucien. He found the two of them sound asleep, Jean tucked into Lucien’s chest, his arm around her. James hooked up an IV, added some pain medication, checked the cold compresses on Lucien’s knee, made certain it was elevated properly and dimmed the lights. As he was leaving, Richard showed up to chat with Lucien. “Won’t find anyone in there able to talk with you right now, Richard. They are both sound asleep. Lucien is actually peaceful. Let’s hope that continues tonight.”

James returned to the room later and found Jean gone, Lucien awake reading the newspaper. “Good afternoon, Major. I see you are alone – doing alright” “Yes, I am James. Jean and I had a nice afternoon nap, and I did not scream myself awake, I will have you know. Hugh dropped by earlier and took Jean for a walk. You know she told me how all of you have banded together to help her while I was gone. I really thank you.” “But Lucien, it was a two way street – we all needed help somewhere along the way. Jean has been the stalwart of the POW grant. She has guided us straight on to a renewal and two papers are in print. Definitely a good hire on my part to get the grant started.” 

“While Hugh and Jean are walking, let me get some vitals, an EKG, neurological data, get a urine sample, check your knee and ears. Did I cover everything, Major?” “James, I think so. I am still in disbelief that I ended up here, in your treatment room in A&E, that you knew me. I could still be wandering the streets if you were not alert.” “Lucien, I think you would be somewhere by now, either in some hospital – where no one knew who you were – or the mystery man would have taken you once again. I am convinced of that. You were bordering on total collapse. And you seem to be rebounding very nicely. Any new complaints I need to know about?” “Just one, I am hungry just a couple hours after I eat. Hugh has me on a soft diet and it is not filling me up for very long.” “Noted, and Hugh and I will talk about stepping you up to a more normal diet. We do not want you having digestive issues.” “Agreed, I don’t want that either.”

James was just completing his physical exam of Lucien when Jean and Hugh returned to the room. “Major, I have something to discuss with you.” “Yes, Hugh?” “You asked me to not tell Alice about your shouting episode this morning. I have decided I need to tell her. She is your physician as well and I have to tell her,” Hugh told him. “Lucien, you cannot ‘control’ what she is told or not told. You can’t,” Jean offered her opinion. 

“Um, look, I was embarrassed. Ah, I should be able to control myself better than that,” Lucien told them, with a voice that became very soft. “Lucien, give yourself time. We do not know what hell you have been through. You know Richard and Alice are very conservative in their prescribing of medications. If they think you need to be on something, they will discuss it with you. But you need to be honest with all of us,” James told him. “Tell me about this afternoon. Did you awaken as frightened as this morning?” Hugh asked. “Of course not – um because um I had Jean in my arms. She was there,” Lucien told them. “But that may not always be the case, and and I um – yes, go ahead and tell Alice. I am her patient – I asked her to help me. She should know,” Lucien said, looking forlornly at Jean, shaking his head slightly.

While Hugh and James were wrapping up their conversation with Lucien and Jean, Diane walked into the room and asked Jean and Lucien about dinner choices. Jean selected a couple ala carte items. James looked at her, “No Jean, you must eat. Remember we talked about the long haul. You need to keep up your strength and that is not enough food. Diane, help Jean select a more nutritious meal. Lucien, let’s give you a more interesting set of choices tonight.” A huge grin began on Lucien’s face. “Yes, Yes, this is better., as he looked at the menu. Thank you James and Hugh.”

Sunday evening, getting dark again. Jean, Richard, Hugh, Danny, Charlie were in the room. James had made a run for additional medications for Lucien. He started the evening off doing fairly well, but once again as the sun went down, another thunder storm approached and his agitation level increased. Lightning, thunder, heavy rain, even hail – pounding on the roof. His face contorted, his hands were plastered against his ears, eyes shut. He yelled, “No, No, NO, NO – NO MORE. Stop. STOP.” What ‘tape’ was running in his memory, Jean thought. Jean said to everyone in the room, “Lucien is in such agony, hurting, what is going on? How are we going to help him?” 

Richard, looked at Danny, and ordered, “Take your Auntie Jean out of here, NOW.” Danny walked up to Jean, “Let’s go. Richard and Hugh will take care of him.” “No, Danny, I need to stay for him, to be with him.” James walked into the room, put the medications on the tray next to Richard. Richard nodded his head at James, pointed at Jean, he took Jean’s arm and he and Danny walked her out. “No, I must stay.” James got her into the hall, and said, “Jean, you were not there with us, you do not need to hear or see this, please let’s find an empty room and get you comfortable. Danny stay with her. I will send Charlie to be with you both. I will ask for some tea for the three of you.” 

As he approached the nurse’s station, James talked quietly to Diane, who was serving as the Charge Nurse that evening, “We need three tea for Danny, Jean and Charlie. Please add this medication, as he wrote out an order for Jean, to the cup for Jean. Thank you. Please do it quickly and watch the three of them.” “Yes, I understand and will take care of it.”

When James returned to the room, he told Charlie, ”Please leave us and stay with Danny and Jean. They are just down the hallway. Help Diane deliver the tea to them.” Charlie could see the concern in James’ eyes and voice, “Yes, I will, James.” “Oh, Charlie, ask Diane to have Joseph paged and come here as soon as he can.”

Richard knew he was dancing a fine line with Lucien this evening. This type of pounding thunderstorm was so similar to what they experienced in camp. One time when Lucien was in the tin box, a storm like this one descended on the camp. When he was finally pulled out of the box, he had nearly drown in the water that entered the container, he was out of his mind, eyes glazed, covering his ears to stop the noise, twitching in agony. Joseph was the only one to calm him down. “Wait, wait, everyone, I remember the time Joseph was the only one to calm Lucien down – from a storm like this. And maybe that is why he attached himself so closely to Joseph when he was in A&E the other night. What do you think, James and Hugh?” “Richard you are right about the storm. I remember that. I did not know if Lucien would recover from that episode. But once again, he stayed strong for us. Joseph is the key – and Diane said he answered the page, is on his way. I think you are on to the reason Joseph and Lucien held hands all night. It was not the first time they did,” James told Richard, putting his hand on his colleague’s shoulder.

One of the key memories that Lucien was not accessing was his back, what happened, when, who the four of them were in relationship to it. He nearly had figured it out this morning but the memories slid away from him. If Richard gave him medication to calm him, then he might bury those memories even deeper. But if he was not careful enough, he could damage his Major. 

Within ten minutes, Joseph entered the room, and Richard motioned him to Lucien’s bedside. “Talk to our Major. Like you did in camp – after a storm – talk to him, hold his hand – see if you can break through.” Taking a deep breath, he began, “Major, this is Joseph. Joseph. Can you hear me? I need to hold your hands, help you. We will get you through this. You are safe with us. Talk to me.” “Joseph, my back, my back – it hurts, hurts, so bad, they would not stop, kept hitting, pounding on me, passed out, tried to die, they got me awake and started again. I tried to stop breathing, can’t stand the pain, too much. Why won’t they stop?” 

Lucien became very agitated in the bed, thrashing around, pounding on the bed with his fists, eyes wild with pain, eyes darting around the room. Was he seeing any of them? Was this just a memory running? He was trying to get his knee out of Gus’ apparatus that kept it elevated. 

Hugh told him, “Major, we need to see your back, begin to treat it for you, stop the bleeding. Joseph and I will turn you onto your stomach and we will clean your back up, help you. Are you ready?” They unhooked his knee, turned him over, being careful to protect his knee. 

Joseph began slathering the lotion onto his back, large amounts of it, very quickly, massaging it into his skin, talking to him. “Major, you are safe with us. No one to hit on you now. We will take care of you. Help you. I have your hand. I will work on your back for you. Keep breathing for me, please Major. We do not want you to leave us, alone, in this camp. We are only strong together. We all need you to be here for us.”

Lucien began crying, sobbing, gasping, and then began to settle down. “Thank you, Joseph. What you are doing to my back is helping, it really is. Is Richard alright? I know they tied him up, tied his wrists too tightly, is he alright? You know he wanted to be as surgeon – now maybe not. Too much damage?” “Major, I am here. Let me help you now, we need to help you, I am alright, we will all survive this, we will,” Richard told him. 

“Major, you are so strong, you protect all of us, we need to thank you every minute of each day,” Richard told him, with his voice nearly cracking. Richard continued talking to Lucien, “Major, listen to me. We are here to help you, we helped you in camp, and we are here now to help you. Let Joseph and Hugh keep working on your back.” 

”How did we all survive, Richard? How? Why?” Lucien asked. James answered, “Why Major? We survived so we could start the POW clinic here and in Ballarat.” “We survived so we could all become physicians and help our patients and each other,” added Hugh. “We survived so you all could be at my wedding to Mattie, help us raise our kids, enjoy Jean’s Place,” replied Joseph. “Major, How? We survived because you, yes you, made certain that we all did. And now, you got injured once again because you took care of all of us. No regard for yourself,” added Richard. “Let Joseph help you.”

“Um, I remember – um awful, terrible, horrible time, so painful, so many days in isolation, so hungry, starving, hurt so bad, going crazy, am crazy, still crazy, blind with rage. No wonder I have been pushing it down, so many nightmares, so much pain, too much drinking, so angry, Angry, ANGRY.” 

“Major, are you alright on your stomach? They damaged your knee this time so we are going to help you with it too. Just lie still while we figure out what to do,” James told him. Lucien let out a huge sigh of relief and told them, “I appreciate what all of you have done for me. And yes, I love the four of you – we are like brothers, I hope you know that. _I know who you all are now. I do._ Joseph, James, Hugh, and Richard – I know who you are, I do. I know what happened to my back, I do. Just so tired, so tired, just so tir-” 

“Richard, what did you give him?” Hugh asked. “Nothing, he wore himself down. I think we leave him on his stomach, if we can stabilize his knee, for the next few hours.” James was checking his vitals. “Lucien seems to breathing normally, heartrate is coming down, BP is still elevated. What a ride he was on tonight. Richard, did we do alright with this episode? What should we have done differently?” “Nothing different from my view point. We were all sincere, helping him and ourselves, let’s just see how the next few hours go. What about his knee in this position? One of you call Gus Wilson, tell him what went on and ask if he would come in tonight,” Richard said. “I will go check on Jean,” Joseph said. “I will call Gus,” Hugh added.

"Who is staying the night?" Richard asked. James told them he was. "Richard, will you join me?" "Of course, I will. Hugh get some sleep because it sounds like you will have the shift in the morning,” Richard said. “Should we cancel the run to the dentist in the morning for Lucien?” Hugh asked. “No, we don’t need to overreact to this episode tonight. Jean will go with him, and I have Mattie and Jenny lined up to be with him tomorrow after the dental appointment until we do the additional medical tests,” Richard suggested. “Agreed, everyone?” 

Jean, Danny, and Charlie were talking about Lucien’s outburst and lamenting he fact they were all evicted from the room. “Auntie Jean, Richard was just trying to help us, not let you see -“ “What Danny? Doesn’t he think we can handle it? What have we been doing since Lucien got back to Ballarat except trying to help him with his nightmares, his dark moods, his drinking? It is not like we have not seen him struggling with his POW experience,” Jean spit out, still angry at Richard, well, all of them in reality. 

Joseph entered the room and Jean immediately began to unload on him. He stopped her and said, “Jean, Jean, listen to me. Lucien remembers the four of us now, knows who we are, talked about some of the worst days of his captivity, knows what happened to his back, and then collapsed from exhaustion. Richard, James, and Hugh are still with him. I know you did not want to leave the room, but I do think Richard was right.” “But James tried to slip me a ‘mickey,’ I know he did, so I did not drink my tea. I am really angry with him,” Jean told Joseph. “How did you know that, Jean?” “I saw him talk to Diane and she went to the medicine cart. I could just shake all of you, but I know it would not do any good. You are all like Lucien.“

After about 10 minutes, Hugh walked into the room where Jean, Danny, Charlie and Joseph were still unpacking the evening. He had called Gus and he was on his way in to check on Lucien’s knee. “We need to get him off of his stomach for the night. May take all of us to get him repositioned. So I am glad all of you are still here. Why don’t you come back to the room with me?”

Jean walked into the room and James looked at her, quite surprised she was on her feet. “James, don’t you ever try that on me again, understood?” Jean told him with a look that cut through him. “Jean, I just wanted you, um I didn’t think you needed to hear or see –. And I still don’t. We disagree – and I am sorry you feel the way you do.”

Gus walked into the room and saw Lucien on his stomach, leg bent and surrounded by pillows. “Is he medicated or just exhausted?” he asked James. “No additional meds, but we think we need to get him on his back and his knee elevated. Problem is how to approach this. We wanted your assistance,” James told him. Gus got all of the guys organized to help Lucien get moved onto his side, then onto his back. Gus took the brace off his leg, felt his knee, decided no additional harm had come to it, put the brace back on and got the leg elevated once again. Diane packed the knee with cold compresses, covered him up with a sheet and added a light weight blanket. Lucien did not even wake up. Jean held his hand, caressed his face, kissed him, and told him, “Lucien, Lucien, please keep coming back to me. I have missed you so much.”

James and Richard were both staying the night with Lucien. They were not certain if he would need more medication or would sleep through the night. James hooked up an IV, got it running, in case they needed to give him something to calm him down.

Danny and Charlie changed clothes, got their guns, torches, radios, and picked out an area near the hospital to walk, continuing their hunt for Hannam. As they left, Jean hugged them both, asked them to please be careful. “Let me know you are alright when you get back. You know that he can be quite dangerous,” she told the two of them. 

After Danny and Charlie left, Jean decided to go to bed, and despite the fact she was wound tightly, she did not ask Richard or James for any sleep medication. Her stubborn streak had reared its ugly head this night and she was not about to tell them anything. “Jean, do you need any sleep medication?” Richard asked her. “No, I am fine.” Jean spit out, all too quickly. “Jean, are you telling me the truth?” “Richard, um no I am not, but I am still too angry to talk with you about it.” “Will you talk with James?” “No, I most certainly will not talk to James.” 

Richard walked to the Nurse’s station and asked Diane to call Alice Harvey in Ballarat. Alice answered the phone and Richard sketched out what happened to both Lucien and Jean. “Will you talk with her Alice? She is stonewalling both me and James. I know she is on her stubborn streak and we need to help her let go of it.” “Tell her to come to the phone and either Matthew or I or both of us will talk with her. Tell Jean, no excuses allowed.” 

Returning to the room, Richard told Jean there was a phone call for her. Jean walked to the desk and took the phone. “Jean, it is Matthew. Alice is on the other phone. I understand Lucien made some more connections tonight. He figured out who the Melbourne Four are. Tell me about what happened.” “Matthew, Alice, he did,” Jean told them and then stopped. “Jean, do you remember when Lucien and I tried to help you with your neck, just after he returned to Ballarat? “Do you?” Matthew asked her. “Yes, I do, Matthew, and I was so stubborn, almost stupid stubborn, wasn’t I?” “Yes, Jean you were and I think that is what is going on tonight with you, isn’t it?” “Um, Matthew, they ran me out of the room, even tried to give me a ‘mickey’ and I, I am so angry with all of them, all of them, even Joseph, I could just just –” 

Alice broke into the conversation. “Jean, listen to me. That approach is doing nothing but increasing your blood pressure, making your neck ache, and will not help you in this situation. They may be wrong in what they did, but they were only trying to help you, protect you. And Jean, I know, you don’t need anyone protecting you, you haven’t for years, I know, but try to see it from their perspective.” “And Alice they need to see it from mine too, right?” “Yes, they do,” Matthew answered. 

“Now will you take a sleeping medication, lie down, let Richard and James help you? You need your energy for the next few weeks to help Lucien. You need to be strong for the both of you. Will you?” Alice asked her. “Alright, Alice and Matthew, I see your points, I am winding down, and thank you for calling and talking to me,” Jean told them. “Thank Richard, Jean, for calling us and letting us help,” Alice told her. “Richard called you two?” “Yes, he did,” both Matthew and Alice told her. “Goodnight Jean. We will talk tomorrow,” Alice told her.

James looked at Richard and said, “Our best intentions for Jean just got shot to pieces tonight. I thought we were helping her but –“ “We just need to agree to disagree on this. I still think she did not need to be exposed to what transpired,” Richard told James. “Richard, why don’t you get some rest? I will come get you in four hours and you can take over, alright?” James asked him.

Before Richard left Lucien’s room, Jean walked in. “Richard, thank you for calling Matthew and Alice. I will not be stubborn. I need something to help me sleep, please. Then I am going to bed,” Jean told him. James went to the nurse’s station to get a sleeping medication for Jean, and found Richard holding Jean, comforting her when he returned.


	13. Beginning to Move Forward

Chapter 13 Beginning to Move Forward

Jean was beginning to wake up. She looked at her alarm clock and it was about 5 AM. Richard promised her she would not feel ‘hungover’ on the medication he gave her. Apparently, that would be the case. As she moved around in the bed, she listened carefully to hear if Lucien was awake. So far he was quiet – she could hear him breathing, not really snoring as such, but still breathing heavily. Random thoughts moving through my brain. I really got angry last night, stupid stubborn with all of that lot. How much should I tell Lucien about my behavior? How much would he remember about POW camp? Would he remember _how_ he knows who Hugh, James, Joseph and Richard are this morning? I know he has only been in hospital since early morning on Saturday, awake since 6:30 or so Saturday morning. Yes, that is when we both had those cardiac episodes, we got connected again. I wonder if James or Richard are still in the room. If they are, they are very quiet. They have all been up all hours of the day and night with Lucien, and just think how angry I got with all of them last night. I was not thinking clearly and that is the truth. I really should apologize to them – but they still should not have evicted me from the room. What was I thinking, taking on four, yes four, physicians? I was so sassy – like I was when Lucien returned to Ballarat. When should I tell Lucien what I said or should I? Will Alice or Matthew tell him? They know – because Richard called them. This sounds to me like Lucien not wanting to tell Alice about his screaming start to the day. Way too much happening to me, need to try to step it down several layers – Lucien is back, long haul, need to stay strong – what did I just hear? Maybe the device Lucien’s leg is was in moving around a bit? 

“Jean, are you awake? Are you? I am trying to not get frightened – you need to tell me you are here or I am going to, um trying not to, but ah um,” Lucien said in a voice that was slowly increasing in volume, a tremble developing in it. Diane answered him, “Lucien, Good Morning, it is Diane. Do you remember me? I relieved James and Richard a couple of hours ago. They needed some sleep. Jean is still asleep. Let’s not frighten her this morning, alright?” “Um Diane, yes, you and Carol are taking care of me. Yes. Jean? Jean?” Lucien replied, still wanting Jean to answer him. “Would you like something to drink? I have some water and juice with me. One of them?” Diane asked him, trying to keep her voice down, keep it conversational for him, picking up his hand and holding it. He seemed to be able to control himself better this morning than yesterday. “Juice, please, Diane. Thank you.”

From the darkness, he heard what he needed to hear, the voice of his Jeannie. “Lucien, I am here, still not really awake. Give me a few minutes more and I will be at your side, hold your hands, alright?” Jean told him, not wanting to get up just yet. “Can you come and lay down next to me – now? I will hold you until you wake up, will you, Jeannie?” Jean could hear him scooching over in the bed, making a place for her to crawl into, to be next to him, – oh, she missed this part of waking up in his arms, in their big bed, talking, loving, laughing – but not with an audience like here. “Lucien, I am getting up. I will be right there.” “Thank you so much.” Jean crawled in the bed, cuddled up to Lucien, and tears – now, where did they come from – fell onto his chest. “Jeannie, my love, let me put my arms around you. I am here, holding you, I can at least do that for you, I can. We will be alright, we will,” Lucien told her, as he gently pushed her hair away from her eyes, kissed her forehead. Jean pushed herself into his side as close as she could, began to relax a bit, “Good Morning,” she told Lucien. 

About 6 AM there was knock on Lucien’s room. Charlie and Danny returned to tell Lucien about their search for Hannam. Both were hot, dusty, and needed to clean up. “Jean and Lucien, no luck finding Hannam. We searched south of where we were the night before. Several of the homeless men identified a picture of you, Lucien, said you were with the slouch hat guy, but said you two were not sleeping in the area. Lucien, you were limping badly when they saw you on Friday afternoon. You did not have any water, looked like you were really struggling with your leg. Hannam – no sightings of him since maybe Wednesday of last week. We are going to clean up, get some breakfast,” Charlie told them. “We will be back later.”

“Jean, what happened last night? I can’t remember much. Did they give me sleeping meds again?” “No, Lucien, they did not.” “Jean, I do remember that I know the four of them. We were in camp together, they helped me with my back, I remember that now. Is that right?” “Yes, you are right Lucien.” Jean did not pursue any additional information from Lucien. She told herself this is Richard’s province. I will let him deal with it. I can’t let Lucien know how angry I was at all of them last night. But he may figure out that I am still winding down. We’ll see. I don’t think he needs to deal with my reaction to everything that happened last night.

After they had eaten breakfast, Jean applied lotion to Lucien’s back. “Lucien, I think your back is getting better. Not taking nearly as much lotion, not as dry, and my hands are really getting soft again.” “Jean, I can’t go like this to the dentist, just a pair of shorts, no shirt, no shoes, can I? “No, you shouldn’t. Alice and I brought you some clothes, some socks, shoes, underclothing. Do you want trousers or good shorts? No wait, we will not be able to get your trousers over or under that knee brace. Shorts it is.” Lucien replied, “So, shorts and a smart shirt, right? You will go with me, please Jean.” “Yes, of course, I will, Lucien.” 

Carol entered the room, told them both ‘Good Morning’ and secured the IV line so Lucien would not dislodge it accidently. “I talked with Gus this morning. He suggested that I take the brace off, wrap your leg with a compression bandage. Will be easier to manage your transfer to the dental chair. Sound alright, Lucien?” Carol updated Jean and Lucien. “Yes, Carol, that should be easier. That brace is heavy, bulky,” Lucien told her. “Still think shorts will be better, don’t you Carol?” Jean asked. “Yes, I do.” Carol and Jean got him dressed, put his socks on, but only the right shoe, helped him onto his crutches, into the wheelchair. Carol adjusted the leg rest to accommodate his left leg, and pushed the wheelchair, while Jean walked along beside him, her hand on his shoulder, talking about what was going to happen. A security detail was ahead of them and behind them. 

The staff at the dental office were briefed by James already and knew that Jean would stay with Lucien. Carol and a member of the security detail walked back to the POW unit. Jean kept talking to Lucien, stayed in his field of vision, at times holding his hand. As expected, his teeth needed a cleaning in the worst way, and he did have a cavity that needed a filling. He was ready to return to his room in two hours, with a mouth that was still numb. 

When Lucien was on his way to the dentist, Richard picked up Aaron’s medical chart and walked into his room. “Good morning. I heard you were awake, wanting some real food, complaining about your headache, is that right?” “Yes it is. Richard, tell me what is going on, will you?” “Aaron, my first question was going to be, ‘Who am I?’ and you already know. So that is excellent news. Let me sketch out what happened. Saturday afternoon, you were going to visit Lucien Blake about his ear infection,” Richard started. “Yes, that is correct. I was in my office to get the details of where the private POW wing of hospital was. Never had a patient there before. And now I am in hospital? My head is pounding. What day is it?” 

“Hospital security found you stuffed in a closet in your office suite Saturday afternoon. You have a serious skull fracture. I imagine you are still having a pounding headache. I will check you over before I leave this morning. But first, let’s unpack some more of what happened. I visited you in A&E Saturday afternoon and when you were stable had you moved up here.” “Richard, where is here?” “Well, it is an isolated private POW suite of rooms. It is where you were supposed to be on Saturday afternoon. Lucien is in the room next door. You have three physicians – James , Hugh and me – and two nurses, Carol and Diane. Your office staff have cancelled appointments, rearranged surgeries, and have you out of the office for at least two weeks. It is Monday morning about 8 AM. What else can I tell you?” 

“Who hit me? Why?” “Aaron, a man, who we are calling the mystery man, hit you, assumed your identity to try and enter this suite of rooms. We think he wanted to either abduct Lucien or to eliminate him. Two Melbourne police detectives stopped him. He had your wallet on him,” Richard told him, and Aaron just looked at Richard with his mouth open. “What in the world?” “We still don’t know all of the details. I have your wallet and will give it back to you.” 

“Well, this is all a lot to process for me, Richard.” “Agreed, agreed. Can I do a neurological exam, now?” “Of course.” After completing his exam and writing the patient notes, Richard began, “Aaron, as you already told me, you have a headache, neurological signs are still not normal – which is to be expected – but they are improved from Saturday. We will keep checking you at least twice a day. Take more x-rays every three or four days to see how the fracture is healing. You are staying with us for the foreseeable future. Rest, no reading, no listening to the wireless, forced idleness – probably bordering on boredom. Here are some dark glasses. We will keep the room lights dimmed. Let your brain rest and recover. I will have Carol talk with you about food preferences when she returns from taking Lucien to the dentist. Will also have her help you clean up when you feel like it, and she or Diane will help you take a walk. If you want to get out of bed and sit in the easy chair over there, let one of us help you,” Richard told him. 

“Thank you – for taking care of me, Richard.” “You bet, Aaron. I hear noise next door, so will go check on Lucien. Oh, one more thing, do you want someone other than James and Hugh to serve as your general physician?” “They are both fine. Well, for that matter, you are as well. I know I am in good hands. Thank you,” Aaron told him, reaching for his hand to shake.

Richard entered Lucien’s room, with his chart. “Good morning, Lucien. How is the mouth now?” “Numb, but I am doing alright.” Carol and Richard helped Lucien get back in the bed, remove the bandage, put the brace back on, packed his knee with cold compresses, elevated his leg, and made certain he was comfortable. 

“Lucien, Carol and Richard, I have an appointment to get my hair fixed. Will be gone a couple of hours, be back for lunch,” Jean told them. “I need to leave for my appointments, but I have someone coming I think you will enjoy talking with,” Richard told Lucien. As Mattie and Jenny walked in the door, Lucien’s face lit up, “Mattie, thank you so much for coming, again. And bringing little Jenny.” 

As Jean got ready to leave the room, she kissed Lucien good bye and he returned the affection. Richard looked at Lucien, “I won’t kiss you, but I am off as well. See you at lunch, Major.” Richard walked out of the room with Jean. Charlie joined Jean and told her would accompany her to the salon. Richard told Carol where he would be, who was in the room, that Lucien seemed in good spirits. Of course, to keep an eye on him. He updated Lucien’s records as well. “Oh Carol, keep an eye on Aaron too. He may want to clean up later.”

“Lucien, Jenny is quite fussy this morning, sorry.“ “Mattie, here let me take her,” Jenny hugged him and then settled into his arms. “Lucien, how on earth do you do that to my children?” “I don’t know, Mattie. Where is Blake this morning?” “He is with my Mother on Monday morning. She takes him to his piano lesson and then to French lessons with several other four year old children. Lucien, he is quite talented. We are trying to encourage him but still want him to be just a little boy.” “I could tell that yesterday. Reading so well already, good verbal skills, so comfortable around all of us adults.” 

Mattie told Lucien, “I brought a copy of this morning’s paper to read to you. I understand you have been to the dentist already,” Mattie said. Lucien told her, “Yes, needed a cleaning, and a filling in one of the lower molars. They told me it was at least 18 months, maybe two years since I had the last cleaning done. So, we can add that to the timeline – Mattie, we need to figure all of this out.” “We will, you have too many detectives at work on this to fail you. What about this afternoon, what do James and Hugh have scheduled for you?” “They told me an EKG, another knee consult, more blood work, urine sample. I want Hugh to clean my ears again. Jean will be back by then and will be with me.” 

Jenny looked up at Lucien, pulled on his beard, smiled and settled down. “Mattie – you and Joseph – it started at our house in Ballarat didn’t it?” “Well, no, it was a bit earlier, at ‘Jean’s Place’ in the country.” “Yes, that’s right, he fell off the couch didn’t he, we helped him, he stayed with us, we started the Group sessions with him.” “Yes, you are right. Lucien, you cannot even see his scar now. The Plastic surgeons here say it was as good if not better than they could do. Why don’t you rest from your dental appointment? I will read the paper to you, alright?” “Excellent idea, I am getting, like Jenny, a bit sleepy.”

A couple hours later, Joseph walked into the room. “Good Morning, Joseph,” Lucien said with a smile. “Are you stealing my girls, Major?” “Yes, I most certainly am. Jenny is such a doll and Mattie, well Mattie is one of my very favorite people. We were talking about your tumble off of the couch – can I see?” Joseph walked over, Lucien looked at the side of his head, shook his head, “My goodness, I did an excellent job, didn’t I?” “Yes, you did, Major. And you did so much more than repair the side of my face, I hope you know that. I would not be where I am now without your help.”

“Joseph, um, um that first night I was here in hospital, how did all of you know it was me?” “Your back. Lucien, we thought it was you, well I was convinced it was you, because I saw the bullet wound on your lower right leg, wrist surgery on the left arm. When Jean confirmed it, we went into high gear to help you. How does your back feel today?” “Not so bad. All of you helped me last night, right? I really thought I was back in camp, being beaten, in the pit. My mind is all over the place, isn’t it?” “Yes, Major, in the evenings it is. Richard is working with you and he will figure a way through all of this. I know he will,” Joseph told Lucien, hoping he was reassuring him.

Jenny was moving around on Lucien’s chest. She saw her daddy, smiled at him. “Just look at her – beautiful, hair like Mattie, eyes like yours Joseph. She will be a challenge for Blake but they will be a great brother and sister combination,” Lucien told them. 

Jean walked in, looking very beautiful, carrying a box. “Lucien, I found a clothing shop next to the beauty salon and got myself a new outfit for Friday’s meeting.” “What is it? Let me see, Jean. Put it on, please.” Jean changed clothing, and put on a very smart blazer, blouse and pant outfit. Lucien looked at her, “Oh my Jean, you look so good to me.” Mattie looked at the two of them and said, “Do we need to leave, Lucien?” Jean turned red, Mattie laughed. “How many times did Danny and I do that to you two in Ballarat, Jean?” “Too many.” “And Mattie, you know right now, I can’t even get at my gal. Jenny is asleep on my chest, you and Joseph here staring at us, have a bum knee that is in that damn monstrosity. Soon, I am going to grab you, take you to my bed, Jean.” “Promises, promises, Lucien.” “We will see my darling Jean,” Lucien told her and then smiled broadly.

Hugh walked into the room to check on Lucien as Joseph was leaving. Jean, Jenny and Mattie were still there with him. “How are you doing today, Lucien? What can you tell me?” “Hugh, I need a script pad and you are going to run an errand for Jenny.” Hugh and Mattie looked at each other as Lucien wrote in Chinese characters on the paper. “Lucien, what _are_ you doing?” Hugh asked. “Jenny is teething, with the amount of chewing she is doing on her hand and on mine, we need to get her something to calm her gums down. This is the formulation for a gel that will help her as well as Mattie. Hugh, when you go out for lunch today, walk by the Oriental Medicine shop and get this filled for her.” With a big grin, Hugh responded, “Yes, Major, I will pick it up at lunch today. I won’t forget. Are you coming back to us, Lucien?” “Maybe so. I certainly want to be myself again. The memories came in a flood last night, didn’t they, Hugh? All about the camp and you four helping me. So hard, so frightening, but I think so necessary. Also Hugh, take the ear drops from my ruck sack and ask about them.” “Yes, Major. Danny has a translator meeting me at lunch today, so we can take care of both scripts.” “Hugh, get me a fresh bottle of the ear drops as well.” “Yes, Major, will do.” 

“Lucien, in a few days would you like some food – not hospital food – from one of the restaurants nearby? We could get take out for you and Jean.” “Yes, Yes, I would. And I want a bottle of wine, candles, flowers, and a table set so Jean and I can have a proper dinner, just the two of us,” Lucien told Hugh. “Yes, Sir, I will take care of the details.” Jean smiled, “Such a fine idea, Hugh. Yes, let’s do it.”

After lunch, Hugh did a blood draw to check the electrolyte balance, a urine sample for drug analysis, another neurological check, and an EKG to compare to previous ones. “Lucien, I will clean your ears again as well,” Hugh told him. “Yes, please do. Then we can start using the new bottle of drops.” 

“Hugh, how is Aaron Gage, the consult I was supposed to see about my ear infection? Is he in the room next door? Still recovering from his encounter with the mystery man?” Lucien asked. “Yes, he is. Got one heck of a headache. And that fellow who delivered the cracked skull is recovering from his tangle with Danny and Charlie, handcuffed to his bed, refusing to talk.

Gus Wilson walked into Lucien’s room and asked Lucien about his knee. “Lucien, what did I do to your knee on Saturday?” “You drained the fluid on Saturday and hung my leg in the air, like a piece of meat at the market. And yesterday, you ordered me to get in bed, off the crutches,” Lucien told him, with a grin. “You don’t like the monster contraption do you, Lucien?” “Not in the least.” Gus examined his knee, moved it to the groans, grimaces of Lucien. “Your knee is better, but I am not ready to change the brace yet. Keep it elevated as much as you can. I know it is uncomfortable but I think 48 more hours and you will see less swelling. How is the pain level now?” “Gus, it still aches, but does not hurt like Saturday morning. Are you staying with a conservative approach?” “Yes, Lucien, that is still my thinking. I imagine you fell hard on the knee and had to walk without crutches. You have strained most of the tendons and ligaments, but they can repair with time, hopefully without me cutting into your knee. You know, I think you are processing information better today. That is good news – keep it up, rest, stay in bed, alright?” Gus told him. “I will try to follow your suggestions, Gus,” Lucien told him, with a grin. “So my ‘doctor’s orders’ are now ‘suggestions’ – that is interesting. I still consider them ORDERS, Major Blake. And you need to follow them, understood,” Gus told him, “Understood.” “Yes, understood, Gus.”

Once Gus left, Hugh hooked up an IV, added some pain medication and left his Major to get some sleep. Jean thanked him for his care and concern. “Hugh, you and James have been so good with Lucien. You have rearranged your schedules for him. Thank you.” “Jean, the Major and you are very important to all of us. I think he is coming back, slowly, piece by piece.” 

Hugh gave Jean a smile, hugged her, and said, “Jean, we need you in good spirits for our grant work, our meetings, our Major. Do you have any symptoms like Saturday morning? Anything that James or I need to know about?” “No, Hugh, nothing to report.” “I will do another EKG on you in the morning to satisfy Alice. She has been asking about you as well. If you need anything, anything at all, let me know.” 

Carol, the charge nurse, walked into the room, smiled at Jean and said, “Mrs. Blake, um Jean, Dr. McCoy would like to talk with you at 5 PM this afternoon. He will meet you in the Doctor’s lounge down the hall. He said to remind you, ‘No arguing.’ He said you would know what he meant.” “Yes, I do. Thank you, Carol.” 

Danny and Charlie entered the suite of rooms. Both looked like they were on a mission of some sort. “Lucien is asleep if you want to talk to him.,” Jean told them. “No, Auntie Jean, we don’t want Lucien. Are you busy? Can Charlie and I talk to you now? Is there a place we can chat that is pretty well isolated?” Danny asked her. “Yes, let’s ask Carol where we can hide out and talk,” Jean told them, with an eyebrow lifting upwards. Carol walked them to an isolated room, turned on the light, and asked them, “Will this be alright?” Charlie told her, “Yes, and I will turn off the lights when we are finished. 

“This seems like – well, somewhat clandestine, don’t you think?” Jean asked them. Danny began, “We need to update you on what Matthew and Bill Hobart have discovered and we want your input on additional information. Yesterday, at the Ballarat police station, they found the agency folder on Lucien, including his exploits after the war, when he was an undercover agent for the Army. Jean, Lucien killed two men, one was Victor Gennardy in Macau and the other was Bao Cheng in Taipei. What Matthew is wondering is this: does Lucien have additional files, journals, diaries about that time in his life, about what he was doing and if he does, where might Matthew find them. The Blake house? His surgery? Bank deposit box? Safe? I know this is a great deal to think about, with no warning, but we wanted you to start to – “ Jean looked at Danny and then Charlie. “This is not what I was expecting to hear from you two. Yes, I knew about this. Lucien told me. What does it have to do with anything now? Wait, um Matthew is thinking – but those murders happened years ago, Lucien was ordered to kill. How does that link to his disappearance? How does that fit with Hannam? Let me think about where Lucien’s journals are stored. Should I ask him?” “No, Jean do not tell him about this discussion, just not yet,” Charlie told Jean. “Well, Auntie Jean, that is what we wanted to ask you. We’ll be on our way. Got a meeting in a few minutes with James and Hugh, up here as well,” Danny told her. “Well, I have a meeting with Richard in a few minutes. I will talk with you tomorrow about what I remember,” Jean responded.

At 5 PM, Jean told Lucien, “I am meeting Richard. I will be just down the hall. Carol knows where I will be. Do you need anything before I leave?” “No, Jean, I am fine. Come here and kiss me goodbye, will you?” “I was going to do that very thing, Lucien,” Jean said, as she walked up to him and kissed him. “Jean, I love you. Thank you for staying with me. I am not so dependent on seeing you, holding your hand, needing your presence as I was on Saturday – well, except in the morning, still not in control then. But now, I will be fine. Carol will help me if I need anything,” Lucien told her, smiling.

Jean walked into the room and Richard was already seated on the couch. “Jean, the last three days – well, we have all been through every emotion I can think of. I wanted to talk with you, unpack what you are feeling. Take a seat on the couch. Here. Beside me.” “Richard, thank you for creating some time for me. I know you are so busy. I need to talk – we talked so many times about the ‘theoretical return’ of Lucien, what it would be like, how to handle it. Some of what we discussed has helped, but I did not imagine that he would have such gaps, such holes in his memory.” “But, Jean, Jean, he is recovering it. Not all of the memories at the same pace, but he is getting bits and pieces back. I think our best approach is not to ask him a direct question about an event, a person, a place, but a sideways question. He can access the memory that way. Think about how Matthew got the bank location out of him. That is the way to handle him, at the present.” 

“Richard, will he be able to practice medicine again? That is so important to him, so much a part of who he is.” “I think that is way too early to talk about. Our first goal is to get him physically on the mend. I think his knee may prove to be a long-term issue but he has seen Matthew cope with his injured leg, to develop other skill sets that compensate for the leg. Lucien can talk with him and learn from him. They seem to be very close friends.” “Yes they are, Richard.”

“Emotionally, I think Joseph is going to be key here. Joseph was the first person Lucien helped – got really involved with Joseph’s camp issues. The two of them bonded, as they wrote in their journals, studied their nightmare logs, talked to each other. I think Lucien will take an important first step back to his ‘normal’ life when he wants to see his journal and nightmare log. Let me know when that happens. It may be tomorrow, weeks, maybe months from now, I just don’t know.”

“And of course, you Jean, his anchor, you have guided him from the first day he was in Ballarat. But don’t let him get too dependent on you, he needs to remember he can’t do it all, he doesn’t have to do it all, and you do not have to do it all – he has both the Ballarat and Melbourne contingents to support him, to help him, as you do. He does not have to shoulder all of the camp abuse that he did for us. We are going to distribute helping him amongst all of us.” 

“Richard, I think I should stay here with him, don’t you?” “Yes, of course, stay here in Melbourne with him. But – take time for the grant work you must do for us, take time for yourself – let’s get the Ballarat group session that you lead here to see you, have Rose come to talk with you, leave Lucien for an afternoon – talk to us, go out to lunch with us, call Matthew and Alice, take a long nap, have Mattie and the kids visit. We need to think about you and keep you feeling good about his return.” 

“Richard, I realize there will be ups and downs in his recovery, I know that. You know I was quite angry with all of you last night. Making me leave the room. I could have helped him, I could of. And you threw Danny and Charlie and I out like we were naughty children. One of you even tried to slip me a ‘mickey.’ I was mad, but by morning, I, I knew you were right. I was taking on too much of what is going on. I need to let each of you carry some of the load. You have told me that many times. But to come to an understanding of that fact is so hard. I carried him by myself on his return to Ballarat – it was a heavy load, sometimes too much, I know that now,” Jean told Richard, looking at him occasionally, smiling at him, letting him hold her hand, wipe her tears.

“Jean, I know you were upset with us last night. But you did not need to be there – in that room, in that place. You just did not. I am glad you are not too angry with us now. But also very glad you told me about your feelings. Now let’s talk about your sleeping. How can I help you?” “Richard, I am not sleeping with all of the hallway noise, staff checking on Lucien all night long. I know that needs to happen, but –“ “Two suggestions, you sleep in another room – ‘Richard, no, no’ – or I can give you something, like last night, low dose to get you asleep and sleep through the ‘bed checks’ on Lucien, let you awaken in 7-8 hours, alert, ready to face the day.” “For the short term? Not habit forming? Until we leave the hospital?” “Yes, that is my thinking as well, Jean.”

“'Let’s start back to Lucien’s room. I will give orders to Carol or Diane for your sleep med at night. They will give it to you. Do you need any other medications refilled? I know Joseph took care of your neck meds, anything else?” “No, I have nearly a month supply of the others with me.”

“Um Richard, one more thing. I did not tell Lucien anything about last night. He asked me but um I did not really give him an answer. Should I tell Lucien how I reacted to Sunday night? Is that something I should do today?” “Jean, my thoughts on this – are certainly complicated by his memory issues and my concern for you – so I am suggesting the three of us talk about this, perhaps in a day or two. You and I can process what we want to tell him, give him some more time to settle in here. How does that sound to you?”


	14. Where is Hannam?

Ch. 14 Where is Hannam? 

After Jean left to see Richard, Hugh and James came into the room, helped Lucien get out of bed, and into the wheel chair. They rolled him down the hall to a room that they had reserved for all of them to use. It had a telephone and Danny called Matthew at 5:15 PM. They put him on speaker phone so they could all chat. Matthew started the conversation, “Who is in the room?” Charlie, Danny, James, Hugh and then Lucien all identified themselves. “Even you, Blake. Is this a good idea?” “Yes, Matthew, it is,” Lucien with some authority. “What does James say about this?” ‘Well, Matthew, Hugh and I brought him with us. We will watch him,” James told Matthew, hoping this was a good idea.

Danny started, “Matthew, we did not find Hannam last night either. But we have some information that might help us with the timeline, maybe figure out where Hannam is sleeping rough. We want to share it with you.” “Good, because I have some new discoveries as well,” Matthew quickly added.

“Charlie and I talked to the owner of Jean’s Toys. She said she noticed Lucien limping by her shop twice last week, always by himself, looked into the shop, tipped his hat, smiled at her and continued on his way. His clothes were soiled, he had long hair, and a long beard. One time she went outside to see what direction he was walking and it was away from her shop, but not towards hospital. He never came into the shop. I showed her the picture the police photographer took and she said that was him. No doubt in her mind.”

“Danny and Charlie, just what did I look like - that made me so memorable to the owner at Jean’s Toy Shop? Show me the picture. When was it taken?” Lucien asked them. “Doc, um, I think your physicians should make a call on whether you see the picture, maybe later would be better, don’t you think?” Danny said, with his voice moving up an octave, with uncertainty, as he looked towards James and Hugh for help. “I think now, Danny. Let me see it!” Lucien had slipped into his military manner, his ‘do what I ordered you to’ voice. It surprised all of them. This version of Lucien Blake was certainly different than they remembered.

Hugh looked at James and reminded him, “James, remember you told us that you were the physician in charge when we left the A&E on Saturday morning. So what is your decision?” Hugh had diverted the decision away from himself. “I think the primary care giver for you, Lucien, is Richard. He is not here. So I will defer a decision until I talk to him,” James kicked the can further down the decision-making hallway.

“But, I demand to see it. Now!” Lucien yelled as he was getting quite agitated. Suddenly from the speaker phone came, “Blake, BLAKE, this is Matthew. SHUT UP. LISTEN UP. You are not a policeman, nor a Police Surgeon, you are the patient, a patient who has just started on a long recovery. You always told me – Honesty, No arguing, with your physician. Let James and Hugh have that courtesy as well. Understand!” Matthew finished his dressing down of his good friend. 

“Um, Yes, of course, Matthew you are right. James and Hugh – I am sorry to put you in an untenable position. I am. Danny and Charlie, you were right to shut me down. I need to remember I am the patient. And I know that Richard calls the shots. I will behave myself, I will,” Lucien told them all, looking at the floor, and thinking to himself. What did I just do? Why am I behaving like this? What is going on with me? 

Charlie reported on the Bank. “Yes, the bank is across the street from the Oriental Medical Shop. Lucien made two withdrawals in the last two weeks. Robert Hannam also has an account there. We are getting the paperwork together to access his account information. Should have it tomorrow, Boss. Lucien was with the slouch hat guy the first time and the last time by himself. He was limping the second time. Both used military passports as the identification for the withdrawals. They identified Lucien’s photograph as the person claiming to be Lucien Blake. They had written down his military passport number and it agrees with the one we have from his ruck sack.” 

“I kept my money in my boot, nowhere safe to keep it, no lock on the door, ruck sack could be stolen, nowhere else to hide it. Where we were sleeping - not safe, not safe,” Lucien told them. “Major, where were you sleeping? Can you tell us?” Hugh asked Lucien. “Um, well, ah don’t know that. But there is something else in my boot – what? Bloody hell, what?” Lucien told the group, getting somewhat perturbed at himself.

Matthew entered into the conversation. “Danny and Charlie, what about the fingerprints of Aaron Gage and the mystery man. Anything back on those two yet? What about the gun? Did the butt end of the gun cause the skull fractures?” Danny began updating them on the fingerprints. “Boss, fingerprints of Gage agree with those on file at the medical school, school of tropical medicine, and here at hospital. So it looks like he is legitimate.” “Alice and Bill are following up on his information at the medical school as well as the school in London. Started this morning on this,” Matthew told them. “Now, the mystery man – this is more confusing. Several names are coming up for these prints. Not all of the information is in yet, Boss,” Charlie told Matthew. “Give me a couple more days on this. We have a ‘hold’ on him. Still in hospital, handcuffed to his bed, in the prison wing, in isolation.” “Good Charlie. Let me know more as soon as you can. Bill can pursue this as well.”

“Now, the butt end of the gun – Gus had a good idea, but it does not match Gage’s skull fracture. And not even a good match for Lucien’s fracture. So that is not what was used,” Danny updated them. “Forensics are still working on it. Also, no prints on the gun, anywhere, not even on the bullets.”

“One more thing from the Ballarat end of the investigation. Bill found Lucien’s dossier and agency file in a storage room at the Police station. We are going through it to see if there are any episodes, investigations, mayhem, um killings, you were involved in Lucien that could be connected to your disappearance,” Matthew explained to the group. “How in the world did you find that? Last time I saw it, Llewellyn Sullivan had it and I was in jail. William Munro was using it against me,” Lucien told all of them. “Good work, Matthew. Thank Bill for me.”

“Let me tell you about my trip to the Oriental Medicine Shop,” Hugh told the group. “Lucien and a shorter man, wearing a slouch hat, were in the shop recently. Lucien – you were not limping the first time. You got ear drops and also malaria medication – not for yourself, but for the other man. The second man complained that he would not take it. Even then, he seemed to have a fever and Lucien, you bought the medicine anyway. Each of you had a ruck sack. Looked like both of you were probably sleeping rough. About a week ago, Lucien, you were back by yourself, limping a little bit, but not terribly. Got more malaria meds. Paid in cash, had a withdrawal slip mixed in with your money, from the bank across the street. The Owner identified the picture as you.” 

“I thought the owner seemed very hesitant to talk with me. I had the police translator with me. Maybe that put him off, I just don’t know. It seemed to me he had more to tell me, but was afraid to trust me. After all, I just wandered in to the shop today at lunch. I need to go back and see if he will be more forthcoming,” Hugh finished telling the group.

“I want to see the map again that Charlie had a couple of days ago,” Lucien said. The map was spread out on a table. “Now where is the toy shop, the oriental medical shop, the bank, the hospital?” Charlie pointed them out, circled the locations on the map. Lucien scratched his beard, continued studying it. “The bank and the medical shop are on a different route from that of hospital and toy shop, right? So what is over here, Charlie,” pointing to the area around the Bank and Medical Shop. “Take out restaurants, couple cheap bookstores, homeless shelter, not many high end shops.“ 

“Stop. No, No, Charlie, that is not right. You looked there the other night, right? And I know now that is not the area I was staying in. You looked south of the hospital last night, right? So let’s look at the street that the hospital and toy shop share. What is on that path?” “So, Boss, we need to look at the hospital to toy shop route, then the other direction away from the toy shop. Is that what you are thinking?” Charlie asked. 

Charlie and Danny looked at James who said the obvious, “You two want to take Lucien on a ride, a sleuthing trip, don’t you?” “Yes, what if we drive to the toy shop and then slowly work our way the other side of it? See if anything clicks?” Danny said. “Yes, let’s do it. We have looked in the places around the hospital that we know about with no results. It has been since Friday that Robert has been on his own, and we know he is ill,” Charlie added.

“Matthew, what do you think of our plan?” Charlie asked. “Keep in mind that Lucien is limping, walking slowly, so don’t drive too quickly, don’t expect his route to be a main street, check all side streets, alleyways, large garbage bins, empty buildings, you know the drill as well as I do. Good luck and let me know what you discover. Lucien, good work, my friend, very good work.” “Yes, um, Matthew, Thank you. It is about time I got involved. And Matthew, thank you for telling me to shut up and concentrate on what is important – where I was staying.” 

Hugh and James looked at Lucien, “Yes, Lucien, we will let you get involved as long as the two of us are with you. You are our responsibility. No arguing with us, alright, Major?” “Of course. Agreed. I am the patient. I will try not to argue. Let’s go.” 

James called A&E and put a hold on one of the wheelchair transport vehicles. The group returned to Lucien’s room and James asked Carol for the compression bandage she had used earlier in the day. Hugh and Carol took the brace off of Lucien’s knee, wrapped his leg, and put his right shoe on his foot, got his crutches, and helped him get back in the wheelchair. 

After placing Lucien in his wheelchair, Charlie, Danny, James and Hugh started rolling him down the hallway. Richard and Jean approached them. Richard looked at them and said, “Why do I think this is a field trip for Lucien?” “Tell me what is going on.” James sketched out their thinking. Richard listened intently. No comments from him for a couple of minutes, as he looked at each of them. “You have one hour with Lucien. No more, understood.” “Yes, Richard, they will have me back in one hour. Take care of Jean for me, will you?” Lucien answered for all of them, the beginnings of a grin on his face. 

“Lucien Blake, I should have known you would get in the middle of your own mystery. Can’t stay out of it can you?” Jean told him, trying to be a bit angry, but smiling. “I love you, Jean. They will have me back, safe and sound, you know they will,” he said as he held her hand, kissed it, smiled back at her. “Come here, let me give you a proper goodbye kiss.” After Lucien delivered a passionate kiss, and Jean turned red in the face. Jean told him, “Lucien Blake, what on earth are you doing?” “Giving my gal a ‘Blake’ kiss for the first time in a very, very long time, my love.” “But in front of all of these people?” “What people? It was just between the two of us,” Lucien told Jean, with a roguish grin on his face, eyebrows lifted up, flirting with Jean. All of them just smiled at Lucien and Jean. Danny said, “Just like the old days in Ballarat, Doc.”

Once in the vehicle, Danny drove, Charlie sat in the front with him and Hugh sat in the back with Lucien and James. Danny put the flashers and lights on, slowly traveled towards Jean’s Toy Shop, and then stopped. Lucien looked at the sidewalk and the building, shook his head, wiping some tears. “So this is where I was found, unconscious, dehydrated – Um, I am alright, I really am,” he told Hugh and James. “James, this shop is just a block or two from hospital, from A&E isn’t it? I was almost back to – um, yes – “ Lucien paused, unable to finish his thought. “Major, we talked about that possibility on Saturday morning. Yes, you were nearly back to A&E, to my treatment room, the building where we had our POW meetings, at first I thought perhaps just a coincidence, but –“ James stopped, unable to finish as well. “I think, somewhere deep in my memory, I knew, knew, if I got back here, then there, then –“ Lucien tried to finish his statement and then broke down. “But Major, you are with us now, and we have a task to complete. So let’s get to it.” Hugh told Lucien, as he handed him a handkerchief. “Yes, Hugh, thank you.”

Then the backtracking began. Danny continued to drive slowly, giving Lucien time to look down each side street, first left and then right, and Lucien told them when to stop. He had them stop twice, backup once, then told them no, no not yet, keep going. At the fifth intersection, he gasped, got panicky, anxious, agitated, breathing became irregular. James announced he was going to pull the plug on the expedition, “We are going back to hospital now, Major.” “No, NO, James. Not arguing, not. Please, not yet. Um, well, um, ah, yes turn left here and head up the street.” Danny entered the street and Lucien began to look carefully at the buildings, the sidewalks. James and Hugh kept an eagle eye on him.

“Danny, wait, just wait. Stop here. This is where I tripped, landed so hard on my knee, hurt so bad, but had to get back to Robert. Danny and Charlie, take notes, go straight down this street, turn right and walk down those bloody damn steps, walk some more, turn left, walk, walk, walk, blue cracking paint. Smelly, dark, nasty, dirty place. Our gear is there. So sick, so much fever.” Then Lucien stopped talking, gasped, tears fell. “Boss, what is blue cracking paint? A building? A door? A room? A garbage bin? How far down the alleyway? What are we looking for?” Charlie asked, hoping Lucien could give them more specific detail. “Charlie, I don’t know, I just don’t know, don’t know,” Lucien told them, visibly upset.

“Now, we go back to hospital, Danny,” Hugh told him. James held Lucien’s hand, Lucien wiped his eyes with Hugh’s handkerchief, Hugh had his arm around Lucien’s shoulders, and in a few minutes, they were back to the A&E entrance. James and Hugh rolled Lucien out of the vehicle. He had regained his composure by the time they reached his room. Both Jean and Richard could tell that something had happened. 

“Richard, Jean, I am alright. We found the area where I fell and hurt my knee. They know where to start looking for Hannam tonight. It is an area they have not searched before,” Lucien told them, as he reached for Jean’s hand to hold. She held his hand, brought it to her face, gently kissed it, looked at him, smiling. “Jeannie, I helped, I did.” 

After Lucien was helped into bed, his knee elevated on the apparatus, packed in cold compresses, James, Charlie and Danny started to leave. “Listen you three, be careful, very careful. Even if Hannam is ill, he can be deadly, you know that, right?” Lucien told them. “Yes, we do Major. Jean warned us on Saturday evening and again on Sunday evening, and now you today. We understand. We will find him, and we will take care of each other,” Charlie tried to assure Lucien that they would be alright.

While the three left to search once again for Hannam, Lucien and Jean asked Diane if they could order some dinner. “Dr. and Mrs. Blake, Carol and I kept your dinners warm for you. When Carol delivered their dinner, she told them, “I have completed my shift and Diane is on for the evening. See you both tomorrow.” “Good night Carol. Thank you for your help today,” Lucien told her. “I think you are feeling better today, aren’t you Dr. Blake?” Carol asked him. “Yes, I am. I do believe I am.”

They had just begun to eat dinner when Richard entered the room, carrying a medical chart, followed by Diane with his dinner. “Richard, don’t you ever go home?” “Not since my Major showed up on our A&E doorstep very early Saturday morning. Talk to me. What is going on with you this evening? Tell Jean and me about your sleuthing trip.” 

“Richard and Jean, I helped them figure out where to search. Not terribly accurate I imagine, could not remember all of the details, but enough to get them started. Robert has answers that I need, he must be found. I don’t know if I can ever figure this out without him telling me why he abducted me from Ballarat. Why he, why he wanted to destroy the life that Jean and I had created, were enjoying? Why Richard, why did he do it? Why couldn’t I get away? Why couldn’t I let Jean know I was alive? Why?”

“You know, if James had not been in A&E the night I was found on the street, I don’t think anyone would even know now – tonight – that I am alive, I am convinced of that fact.” Lucien let out a huge sigh, shivered a bit, and then tears came from his eyes. “Lucien, look at me. Look at me. We will work through this together, do you hear me?” Jean said as she held his face, smiled at him, kissed him. “Yes, Jean, I hear you and I do want to believe you, I do,” Lucien told her, in a soft voice.

Richard asked Lucien, “Major, let’s talk about how you figured out where to look for Hannam tonight.” “I thought about what they told me, about what direction they said I was walking, about what was on the street, about the map that Charlie and Danny had of the area around here. I pieced together what I recalled. There were holes, huge craters, but I overlooked them and figured out where Robert and I turned to walk to the dirty, smelly, musty building we slept in. I do not know who picked out that building, why we were in Melbourne, so may holes, so just bypassed them, worked with what I had,” he said with a huge sigh of relief, smiling at both Jean and Richard. 

“Yes, Major, yes, you did and that is the way the next few days, weeks, months will have to be. You take what you have and work with it. I really think over time you will put this episode together, with or without Hannam. Do you understand what I just told you? With or without Hannam. It does not rely on him – it relies on you, Major.” “Richard, you have such faith in me being able, able to do –” “Lucien, I have faith in that labyrinthine brain of yours, figuring this situation out, repairing itself, healing itself. We need to provide the physical and emotional support to you that will allow, over time, your brain to heal, your memories to return.” Jean reached for her Lucien, held his head near her heart, while he wrapped his arms around her. “Jean, I will be back to you.” “I know you will, my darling boy.”

“Lucien, several more things to talk about. I have your medical chart, and the lab results from Hugh’s visit with you this afternoon are back. Let me go over them with you and Jean. Neurological testing is still not normal but is better than on your admittance. Let me feel your skull again. Yes, still somewhat tender, isn’t it? Drug levels will be back tomorrow, but I am assuming they are decreasing, due to the IVs and the fact you are not taking anything now. No cardiac issues detected on the EKG. Your ears are still sporting the fungal infection, but with fresh ear drops perhaps we can get it under control soon. Blood work is fine. Gus thinks your knee swelling is decreasing, albeit slower than you want it to, right? All good news I think.” 

“Richard, thank you for sharing this with us. I have something else to tell you. I really got angry at the fellows tonight. Matthew had to tell me to ‘shut up’ and let my doctors call the shots. I wanted to see the picture they are showing the business owners and they would not let me. I just ramped up to so angry so fast that now on reflection – not how I remember myself,” Lucien told Jean and Richard. “Duly noted in the records, and I will talk with James and Hugh about this,” Richard told him. “Why did you want to tell me about this episode?” “Matthew reminded me that I expect my patients to be honest with me and not to argue with me about a decision. He is right. I was not following my own guidelines,” Lucien told him. Richard put his hand on top of Lucien’s and told him, “Major, I expect there will be times when you will not have as much control over your emotions, responses as you had before. You have been through who knows what – we will all help you unpack this. Please do not hesitate to talk to me about anything.“ “Yes, Richard, thank you.” 

As Richard looked at Jean and Lucien, he told them, “Alright, I will get out of your hair, get your chart updated. I will give the two of you some ‘couple time’ which seems to be sorely needed. I will also add that to the orders, if you are both agreeable.” Jean looked at him and answered for both of them, “Yes, Richard, please.”

“Jean, I am still hungry. Maybe my appetite is coming back?” Richard put his hand on Lucien’s shoulder, “I know Hugh and James increased your food choices. But maybe we need to add even more. I will ask Diane to bring you some more food. Does it matter what?” “No, no, of course not, just more to eat, please,” Lucien said with a grin, looking at Jean and Richard.


	15. Blue Cracking Paint

Ch 15 Blue cracking paint 

After leaving Lucien’s room, Danny, Charlie, and James went to A&E and got a satchel of medical supplies for James. They had changed clothes into more ‘living rough’ attire that they kept in James’ locker, checked their pistols and ammunition, got their walkie talkies and torches. They made certain they had several photographs of Lucien with them and alerted the A&E folks that they were going to bring a very ill patient back with them, if they were successful. 

An ambulance accompanied them as Danny drove a police cruiser in the lead. They parked the vehicles then began to walk down the street that Lucien pointed out. Following his directions, they started up the street. Each person they saw was asked about Lucien, “Have you seen this man? Do you know where he is sleeping?” The fifth person they asked told them “Yeah, I seen him, running with a bloke in a funny looking hat, been a few days, down those steps there. Hat guy looked sick to me.” The steps were steep, James could understand why Lucien had deemed them ‘damn’ steps, especially with a bum knee. He could have easily fallen here again. The ambulance was turned around and parked near the steps, ready to return to hospital.

They went down the steps and started walking again, looking for a place to turn left. About a half a block later there was an alley way on the left, so the group began moving slowly down it. It was a long alley, so many doors, garbage bins, newspapers everywhere, garbage that did not make it into the bin, seemingly everything being in disrepair. Yes, Lucien was truly living rough – how did he get from tailor-made three-piece suits to his current situation? Hard to figure. How far to walk? What to look for? Was ‘blue’ a door, a building, a bin? Could be any of those. What was Lucien talking about? This was going to take some time – unless someone helped them.

They fanned out looking for buildings that were open – Lucien said the place was not safe, no lock on the door – any possible sleeping areas, anything blue in color. They all needed to be alert for possible sleeping areas. After about 30 minutes, Charlie saw a man wandering down the alley towards them and asked him about the picture of Lucien, “Seen this guy?” “Yeah, I have. You know he is limping real bad, hurt his knee on those damn steps over there. Is he in trouble?” “No, No, he isn’t in trouble. Not in any trouble at all.” “Haven’t seen that guy in the picture in three, maybe four days. But the bloke with him is sick, really sick.” “Can you help us find the sick fellow? We want to help him. Maybe get him to hospital.” He walked them up the alleyway, past at least a dozen doors, several of them blue in color and then pointed at a door with blue paint that was cracking. “In there. That is where the two of them were sleeping. I am not in trouble, right? You ain’t the cops are you?” “No, no, we aren’t the cops. Just want to get the sick guy some help,” Charlie told him, lying through his teeth.

James turned on his torch, Danny and Charlie pulled their pistols out and they quietly entered the building. Quickly scanning the room, they did not see anyone. Charlie and James fanned out to the left, Danny stayed at the door, held it open to let some light in, and blocked it so no one could leave in a hurry. The room had no windows, just the one door, lots of stuff laying around. As Charlie and James began looking at the far end of the room, Charlie saw what looked like a pile of clothes, blankets. He touched the pile, thought he felt something move. He motioned for Danny to come to him. Danny and Charlie, with guns drawn, pulled the blanket back, found another blanket, and then saw a man, dirty, smelly, sweating, very hot. He was not armed. James began doing an assessment. “High fever, breathing irregular, chills, blood pressure very low, he is quite ill. We need to try and start fluids, get him to A&E as soon as we can.” Charlie stayed with James and Hannam while Danny went to alert the ambulance attendants to bring the stretcher to the door. 

James called Lucien’s room to tell him that they had discovered Hannam. They were in A&E and he was not doing well at all. “Jean, I must go to him, help if I can.” “I will talk to Diane about getting you into your wheelchair and downstairs,” Jean told him as she walked out of the room. Diane came back with her and said “Dr. Blake, we need to get you out of bed, into a shirt that if you get blood all over it – no problem and then into your wheelchair.” “Diane, thank you.” “Now, if Gus gives me grief, you are gonna explain, right Dr. Blake?” “Of course, I will Diane. I made you do this, agreed?” Lucien said with a grin. “That will be my story as well,” Diane said, as she thought about how interesting these few days with Lucien had been. Never had any special duty assignments quite like this before.

The security detail led Lucien, Jean and Diane to the A&E room where Hannam was being treated. When Lucien entered, he saw that James was having great difficulty getting the IV started. Robert was terribly dehydrated with veins collapsing on him. “No, no James, you need to do it differently,” Lucien instinctively ordered, more like demanded. James looked at him and said, “Someone help the Major out of his chair and get him over here to help me.” Two of the attendants pulled him up, got him next to the table, steadied him, one stayed behind him for support, and Lucien told them what he needed, how to help him. With gloves on, scalpel in hand, he made the cutdowns on the vein and had the first IV dripping very quickly. “Where did you learn that?” James asked. “Battlefield surgery. You improvise. Not in any book I know about,” Lucien replied.

“We need to get two more drips started but we need to wait. Help me get to his feet.” Once Lucien was at the end of the bed, and steadied, he began again. “We start one in each ankle when tissue feels different than this. Feel this James, not good.” They delayed five minutes. “Now, James, feel the difference? Yes, we start one here,” showing James where to insert the IV needle and on the other ankle, he started the third IV. In two minutes, both of the additional IVs were in place and running. “Now insert bladder catheter, but no bloods for 12 hours. Need to flush the body of toxins. Misleading lab results at this point. Push fluids. Record urine flow. You treat for multiple organ failure – consider every system is shutting down. He is so sick, so sick - Robert you must live to tell me what happened, why you took me, damn it - you cannot die, do you hear me?” as Lucien’s voice rose in anger, shaking his head. “Damn you, Robert,” Lucien muttered under his breath.

A crowd of physicians, including Richard, Hugh and Gus, had gathered around the treatment room, hearing a different voice barking orders about what needed to be done. It was a voice of strength, knowledge, and experience. Perhaps, Lucien Blake was beginning on his journey back to all of them, Hugh and Richard hoped that was the case. Gus was just glad Lucien was using his crutches. That man was a hard one to get to follow orders. But, my goodness, he remembers how to be one damn fine surgeon. I need to tell him that and check on him before I leave tonight. 

Jean and Diane were standing away from the treatment table. Diane looked at Jean and said, “Dr. Blake has him alive at this point, Jean. How he responds to the medications and if his organs recover normal function will tell the tale.” Jean was looking at Lucien, as Richard walked over to put his arm around her. “Jean, my goodness, Lucien – your man, our Major, such incredible skill, we all need to keep helping him come back to us.” After Lucien was helped into his wheelchair, Jean walked up to him, placed her arms around his neck, kissed him, “Lucien, remember, you did your best. It is in Hannam’s court now. Let’s get you back upstairs.“ “Yes, Jean. No arguing. I am really tired,” as he held her hands, kissed them. 

Charlie and Danny remained in the dirty, smelly room that Lucien and Hannam had lived in for the last couple of weeks. They began to gather all of the gear that Hannam was sleeping near. They found two duffel bags, one ruck sack, a slouch hat with the number 26052 on the inside, newspapers, malaria meds from the Oriental Medical Shop, a nearly empty jar of lotion, a couple of hats, probably Lucien’s, a jacket with ‘Col. Blake’ on the name patch, food containers, drinking cups, empty canteens. It was dark, hot and stuffy in the room. No way to clean up, no facilities, would be a terrible place to stay. Charlie called the police to come and collect everything in the room as ‘evidence’ so Danny and Charlie could work with it. Everything they recovered was bagged and brought in two cars back to hospital, moved upstairs near Lucien’s room, to a room for storage, and locked securely. 

Danny called Matthew to update him. After Danny sketched out the recovery of not only Hannam but all of their gear. Matthew told him, “Bill Hobart will be up in the morning to start on the inventory of the gear and work on all of the ‘evidence’ alongside you and Charlie. I know Danny, you have other cases you must work on. How is Hannam?” Matthew asked. “I don’t think he was doing well at all. He may not make it, Boss,” Danny told him. “I know Lucien wants him to, so he can tell him what happened, why he kidnapped him. Excellent work tonight, Danny.” “Thanks Boss.”

After Lucien was returned to his room, Richard and Hugh tried to help him unpack the very busy evening. Lucien’s medical skills, more like battlefield skills, were important in saving Hannam’s life, well at least at this point. “Richard, I did not even think about what to do, just did it. Ordered people around like I owned the place. Like I worked there. Like I am a physician on staff in A&E. I know I am not. I imagine they are all –” “You know what they are saying, Major? Do you have any idea? You are an incredible teacher, leader, physician. You know so much that is not in any book, taught in any medical school, any residency program. You need to teach us and we need to learn from you,” Hugh told him, putting his hand on his Major’s shoulder. 

Lucien interrupted Hugh’s train of thought, announcing very excitedly and very loudly, “Wait, wait, my boots – I just remembered the other thing in them is Jean’s telephone number. Our telephone number at the house, the surgery. Yes, um Hugh, look under the insole of the boot and see if I am right, now, please.” Hugh walked to the side of the room, picked up a boot, and there was nothing under the insole. He then picked up the other one, lifted the insole, and found a scrap of paper, somewhat dirty, torn at the edges, had been wet at one time, a telephone number was written in pencil. “Is this it, Major?” Hugh asked, holding up the scrap for all to see. “Bring it to me,” Jean told him. “Yes, Lucien, that is our number. And the paper looks like it has been there a long time,” Jean told Lucien, with an eyebrow lifted. Lucien looked at her, thought a minute about what to say, how to explain this, “Um Jean, that look you just gave me – makes me remember how many times I was in the doghouse with you, when I first returned to Ballarat. I really fouled up, didn’t I? No excuse, none. I, um didn’t call you, did I? –“ Lucien was stopped dead in his tracks by Jean walking up to him and taking his hand, kissing it and then moving to his forehead. “At least you remembered now, my love, you remembered.” 

“And, and, I am on a roll right now, because – I know where I fell a second time on my sore knee, I do. It was on those bloody steps, trying to help Robert back to our nasty sleeping place. He stumbled into me, I lost my balance and I twisted the Bloody Shit out of it. Oh, it hurt and it just got worse. No crutches, no walking stick. I looked for something to use, knew I should not be walking on it, but had no choice. That was maybe 4-5 days ago, I think,” Lucien told all of them. “Jean, my language, I am sorry, need to watch that, don’t I? You just gave me the eyebrow thing again, do you know that?” Jean looked lovingly at Lucien, not realizing she had slipped back into her way of keeping him aware of transgressing her behavioral norms. “Didn’t mean to get sassy with you. After all, you did an incredible job tonight with Hannam, Lucien.” “Jean, I need sassy from you – means I am coming back, right?” Jean nodded her head in agreement.

Gus Wilson walked into the room, looked at Lucien, and then said, “At least you are in bed, knee elevated,” he said with a grin. “Yes I am, Gus.” “Lucien Blake, you are one damn fine surgeon, do you know that?” Gus told him, giving unusually high praise to Lucien. Gus rarely complemented his colleagues, but Lucien had earned it tonight and Gus was being quite generous in his comments. “Gus, thank you. It means a great deal to me to hear you say that.” “I overheard where and when you fell. Twisting your knee makes more sense with the type of injury you have. It seemed to me a simple fall on to the knee would not present with such swelling. Makes sense, my friend,” Gus told him. “Since I am here, let me check on the brace and the angle of elevation of your leg. Then I am off. See you tomorrow. I will swing by early, abut 5:30 AM, got surgery all day.” “Yes, thank you, Gus. See you early in the morning.”

After Gus left, Lucien asked Jean, “Explain something to me. Why is James working with Danny and Charlie? He is a physician, busy with the POW grant, and on staff here, right? I asked Danny earlier and he did not answer me. Tell me why all of them are doing this investigative work.” Looking at Richard and Hugh, Jean took the lead on unpacking the story of three friends, bonded by the disappearance of Lucien. “Lucien, um Danny, Charlie and James did not, would not forget you. They never did. You were always on their radar. They have investigated your disappearance from the first day. Never content to consider your case a ‘cold’ one, constantly looking for leads, talking to anyone who would give them information. Thinking, organizing specific details, plotting a course. Matthew asked them so many times, ‘Why?’ and they always answered, ‘We will find out what happened to him. We will.’ You know, if Matthew was more physically able, he would be on the streets with them as well. But Lucien, you need to realize that Matthew has been working with them on all of the evidence they collected.”

“Danny has become the expert on ‘sleeping rough’ in this city. As a matter of fact, those three were going to walk another area the day you showed up in James’ A&E treatment room. Charlie and Danny were told about a duo, a guy with a beard and his mate, who wore a slouch hat, were once again spotted in Melbourne, lurking around the Oriental Medicine shop and hospital. Those two were first seen in the Fall of 1962 and then disappeared around Australia Day in 1963.” “Could that pair – well could it be Hannam and me?” Lucien asked. “Perhaps, but they never got as far as that – because you showed up in hospital,” Hugh told him.

Jean continued, “You are very important to all three of them, they respect you, and honored you by not giving up. Their positive attitude kept all of us thinking you would be back – one day. Their job was to find you, or find the leads that would let them discover where you were,” Jean finished, looking at Lucien, smiling, reaching for his hand, kissing his face and his hand.

“Let me add my comments, Lucien,” Richard said. “Of course, Richard, please do.” “Lucien, let me tell you about James the morning you were delivered to his treatment room. He was working through his physical exam, not knowing who you were, and when he looked at your back, he realized for the very first time who you were. He told me he hyperventilated, lost his bearings, was tearing up, heart was racing, nearly speechless. When the two of us talked about your head injury and possible drug usage, he was still not in control of himself. I talked to him for several minutes to work him down to a more normal state. To say he was rattled would be an understatement. You need to realize how much we all need you, Lucien, relied on you presence – you anchored all of us. We were all at loose ends while you were gone, for our own unique reasons. James, Danny and Charlie bonded together to help each other, to help themselves, to help the POW team, and to help the Ballarat group,” Richard concluded. “And it was fortunate that Danny has a stubborn streak like his Auntie Jean,” Richard said, with a grin, putting his arm on Jean’s shoulder. “They kept vigilant, driven, and focused,” Jean told Lucien.

Lucien looked at Jean, Hugh and Richard and smiled, shaking his head. “I am, well, I needed to be reminded about how all of us worked together -- before I, um disappeared. I am back and with all of your help, I will get better, I know I will. But Richard, um I am a bit like James was the other day. Please talk me down, or better, um turn me off, please. My brain is just racing. I will never get any rest the way I am wired now.” “Yes, Major I can do that.” 

Hugh left the room for an IV bottle, and the medications Richard wanted. Jean sat on the edge of the Lucien’s bed and put lotion on his back, began talking to him, kissing him, laughing with him. Once Hugh connected the IV, Richard injected the meds into the line, Lucien was asleep very quickly. Once Jean finished with his back, kissed his bum, Hugh and Richard grinned at her and turned him onto his back, checked his knee and Diane packed it in cold compresses, covered his legs with a sheet.

Richard looked at Jean, put his hand on her shoulder, grinned mischievously and said, “You do realize Jean that Lucien did not know you kissed his bum, right? I knocked him out.” “But I know that I did. And just how can you be so certain that Lucien does not know that as well, Richard McCoy?” Jean snapped back at him, eyebrow lifted, in her best sassy reply. “Well, are you going to tackle that question, Richard? I think you should stay silent,” Hugh responded, grinning, shaking his head at both Richard and Jean. Diane looked on, smiling to herself and thinking, these three people are the best of friends, understand each other, willing to say what they think, not hung up on medical degrees, place in society. I like that very much.

Hugh told all of them, “Everyone, I am staying the night with the Major. Get some sleep, Richard. See you tomorrow.” “Hugh, Thank You. I will sleep up here in the lounge if you need me,” Richard told Jean, Diane, and Hugh, as he started to leave the room.

“An announcement for all of you. Matthew called this evening and said there is a new secure line for the Blake household, NOT the surgery. Bill and he made some discoveries this afternoon and he wants to be certain no one is tapping the household line. The number is now active. I have it recorded on the medical chart for Lucien and will tell Carol in the morning. Danny knows it and he will tell Charlie. We need to tell James, Gus, Joseph and Mattie – anyone else you can think of?” Diane asked. “Oh, he asked that you call him Jean. Alice wants to talk with you as well. They are expecting your call.”

Jean walked to a small room, isolated, private with a telephone and called Alice and Matthew. “Lawson here.” Jean knew someone else was on the line as well. “Matthew? Alice? Are you both on the line? It is Jean. Diane gave me the new number. What did you and Bill find?” “Jean, Yes, we are both on the line. I will let Bill show you the material in the morning. He will be coming on the 6AM train from Ballarat and Danny will bring him to Lucien’s room by 8:15 or so. How is Lucien?” “Lucien just went to sleep, thanks to Richard. They found Hannam, Lucien helped out in the A&E, and was so wired when he got back here – well, he asked Richard to turn him off.” “Jean, Alice here. How is Hannam?” “Alice, he is so sick, don’t know if he will make it through the night. James is with him. Hugh and Richard are staying with us tonight,” Jean told them both. “Bill will work up all the evidence, debris, junk, stuff, whatever they found in the place Lucien and Hannam were sleeping rough. I understand from Danny the place was – well they must have been desperate to stay there.”

“Jean, Matthew is off the telephone, I want to talk with you,” Alice told Jean. “Yes, Alice, I want to chat as well. We had such an established routine and now me being here, you there, I am missing our time spent unpacking the day. Why don’t you tell me how you handled the surgery today, by yourself. Had to be difficult at times.” The two talked for nearly half an hour about patients, household items, Matthew.

“Wait, before we hang up Alice. Three more items. One is that Lucien wrote a script for Jenny’s teething gel in Chinese characters today. Did not miss a lick doing it. The day before he struggled with traditional medications for my neck. Found that interesting and thought you would too.” “Yes, Jean, I wonder if he was functioning in Cantonese or Mandarin the last couple of years? Could explain it. Maybe,” Alice told her.

“Second, Diane and I took Lucien to A&E to help James and Hannam this evening. Alice, he knew, he knew exactly how to start IVs on Hannam, slid into battlefield mentality so fast, it was incredible to witness. James, well everyone there, said if he had not shown up, Hannam could have passed right then and there.“ “Jean, that is muscle memory, training, – you know he is working on your neck from memory as well. Interesting indeed,” Alice said.

“Third, he woke all of us up on Sunday morning, yelling, shouting, scared nearly out of his mind. Thought you should know the state his mind is in – Richard is keeping a close eye on him, as are all of us,” Jean told Alice. “That’s it Alice. Talk tomorrow alright?” “Yes, Jean, we will talk tomorrow. Thank you for sharing about Lucien. I will talk with Richard tomorrow when he is in Ballarat. Get some sleep, my good friend.”

When Jean was finished with the telephone call, she walked back by the Nurse’s Station and asked Diane for her sleeping medication. “I will bring it right in. By the time you get ready for bed, I will be in there. And Jean, I will be in the room about 4 AM to help Lucien wake up. Don’t need him to be so frightened.” “Diane, thank you. Lucien seems to know who you are and settles down when you are in the room.”

Diane entered the room, gave Jean the medication, and she got settled into her bed. Then Hugh walked up to her and sat down on the side of the bed, made certain she was covered up, and told her ‘Good Night.’ “I will keep an eye on both of you and Lucien tonight,” Hugh told her. “Hugh, thank you ever so much.”


	16. Terror at 5:30

Ch 16 Terror at 5:30 

About 4 AM, Diane entered Lucien’s room. Hugh was napping in the easy chair, Jean was still asleep in her bed, and Lucien was quiet, so far. What is he so frightened of in the early morning? Diane wondered. Did something happen to him that he is still processing, trying to remember? Perhaps that was when he was hit so severely on his head? He is quite lucky no more damage was done – it could have killed him if the angle and the intensity were any different. Or perhaps he had done something, perhaps deadly, to someone else, in the early morning hours? A memory, potentially a very difficult one, was just at the surface for Lucien Blake, her nighttime charge. The other episodes were in the evening, when Richard and his POW grant mates could defuse them, well at least somewhat.

Now it was nearly 5 AM, and Diane was still listening to three people breathe heavily. No movement out of Lucien yet, but Richard had sent him to ‘sleepland’ very quickly, maybe the drug was not wearing off yet. Then she realized she was hearing Lucien talk in his sleep, mumbling about his head, how much it hurt, had to get away, must hide, noises so loud, so dizzy, needed to upchuck, but where – then he started to ramp up the volume like the other mornings, “Jean, Jean – are you here? My head, my head, hurts, hurts, got to hide. Jean, I need your help, please.” “Lucien, it is Diane, I am right here, I will help you, I am going to hold your hand, help you wake up. Jean is still asleep. No need to yell, Hugh and Jean are here with me in the room. Why don’t you ask them to wake up and come over here and join us. No shouting, just ask them to come over, alright?”

“Yes, Diane, yes, I will ask them. Hugh, Jean – are you awake? Jean, Can you come to my bed and let me hold you? Please. I need you.” “Lucien, it is Hugh. I will be right there, let me get the blanket off of my legs so I don’t trip. I will wake Jean up and she will be there in a minute.” Hugh got up, went to Jean’s bed and gently shook her shoulder – “Jean, you need to wake up and go to Lucien. He is awake, and trying desperately to keep himself together.” “Yes, Hugh, I am waking up. Got to go to the loo first. What time is it?”

Diane answered, “Jean, it is about 5:30 or so. Lucien is waking up and he is going to stay quiet until you and Hugh are here, at his side. Lucien, you can do this, for just one minute more.” Jean walked up to the bed, smiled at Lucien, kissed him on the hands and cheeks, “Good Morning, my handsome boy. Hugh is here as well. I need to make a quick trip to the loo. Be right back.” “Yes, of course, Jean. I know you are here now. I am alright. Yes, um, where is Hugh?” “Major, right here. Diane helped you wake up, didn’t she?” “Yes, she did. What was I talking about?” Hugh signaled Diane to go get Richard from the Physician’s Lounge. 

“Lucien, you were telling us about the time you were hit on the head, how badly it hurt –“ “Yes, that is right, dark, early morning, from nowhere, nowhere, horrible pain, blackness, don’t remember anything for days, Hannam hiding me, where? I don’t know, but, but – can’t, can’t –“ Lucien mumbled himself out, and looked at Hugh, who wiped the tears off of Lucien’s face. “Hugh, where did that memory come from? I am such a mess in the morning, so sorry.” 

“Lucien, you did tell us you were in Cambodia, Hannam was with you, when you got hit in the head,” Hugh told him. “Really? Hugh, noise, noise so loud,” Lucien said, putting his hands over his ears, squinting his eyes in pain. Jean walked to his side and kissed his cheek, trying to soothe him. Richard and Gus walked into the room and overheard the ongoing conversation. 

When Lucien saw Richard he immediately blurted out, “Richard, I blindsided all of you this morning with an incident you don’t know about, I can’t remember the details of it, and Hannam can’t help me. See Richard, this is what I was talking about last night. If he dies, I will not be able to figure it out. I just won’t. I can’t wake up every morning acting like this, I just can’t,” Lucien told them, shaking his head. Gus motioned to Richard to let him take the lead with Lucien. 

“Blake, Good Morning. I heard you talking about your head injury. I can see how upset you are. Will you let me help you?” Gus asked him. “Gus, why are you here so early? Wait, surgery all day, going to come this morning, check my knee. I remember. But my head hurts, not my knee,” Lucien told him. “Hugh, let’s take his leg down and put a couple of pillows under it. Will be more comfortable for him,” Gus ordered. “Hold still Major and let me unhook it, prop it up for you,” Hugh told him. “Thank you.” 

“Let me feel your head, see what’s going on, alright?” “Yes, Gus, can you make it stop hurting? The noises are so loud, so bloody loud.” As Gus put his hands on Lucien’s neck and skull, he felt the incredible tension in Lucien’s upper body. Then, Gus carefully pulled Lucien closer to his chest, simply held him still, massaged the muscles in his neck and upper back, Lucien visibly relaxed. Jean looked at Gus, and mouthed ‘Thank you so much.’ “Blake, bet you never thought I would have Hugh take your leg out of the monstrosity did you?” “No, Gus. I am winding down, head is not pounding like it was. Not as frightened. Noises are going away. Is Jean still here?” Lucien asked. “Of course she is Blake. She is not leaving you. She is standing right beside me. Now tell, me where your head hurts, let me place my fingers on it and you tell me. Alright?”

Gus, the tall, big, heavy-set Orthopaedic surgeon who no one in their right mind would consider sympathetic had become exactly that for his friend Lucien. Lucien was responding to Gus’ hands-on approach to his morning terror by relaxing, calming down, his breathing slowing down. Richard and Hugh were talking about a medication for Lucien but Gus shook his head no. “Let me try this first.” Gus was thinking on the fly, but with this new incident, one that didn’t occur when he was a Major, not a POW, not years ago, but recently, perhaps the way into his terror was like this –

 _“Colonel Blake_ , now here is what you are going to do for me. You and I are going to pull that terror out of your head, you are going to hand it to me, and I will grind away on it today and see what I come up with. Then tomorrow I will hand it to Richard for him to work on. We are going to keep passing it around to all of us. You are not going to think about it today. Agreed?” Gus said, looking at Lucien, still holding onto his head and neck. “Um, yes Gus, how am I supposed to hand it to you?” Gus, looking at him with a smile, “it is in my hands now and I just stuffed it into my pocket. Let me keep working on your neck.” Richard could see that Gus was making headway with Lucien. Interesting approach. Certainly not expected out of a surgeon, with Gus’ reputation of absolutely no bedside manner – none, what so ever. And now, Gus thought, turn this into a puzzle for Blake to solve.

“Richard, I would like to talk with Aaron Gage if he is awake. Can we get him in here?” Gus asked. Hugh and Diane left the room, and in a few minutes, returned with Aaron in a wheelchair, dark glasses on, and dimmed the lights in Lucien’s room as they entered. “Aaron Gage, Gus Wilson.” “Yes, Good morning everyone. I overheard much of the conversation this morning. Blake, I am sorry your head still hurts - and it is 6-8 weeks later. My head continues to pound and I was hopeful I would not be dealing with the piercing headache as long as you have been. Why am I here now? What can I do?” 

“Aaron, I have an idea about how you might help Blake. Will you help?” Gus asked. “Yes, what can I do?” Aaron said, surprised he could help anyone in his current condition. “Now, the skull fractures of both you and Lucien are very similar on the x-rays. Tell us how you were standing when you were hit on Saturday. Hugh will be you, and you tell him how to stand, lean or whatever you were doing. That will give all of us a better idea of what position Lucien’s head was in when he was hit,” Gus told the group. Hugh walked up to Aaron and Aaron told him how to stand, where he got hit. Then Gus asked Hugh to lie down on the end of Lucien’s bed and position himself such that his neck and head were in a similar position. Gus rearranged Hugh a couple of times and then Aaron and Blake both agreed that was as close as they could imagine Aaron’s standing attack and Lucien’s reclining attack. Gus mimicked striking Hugh as he laid on the bed. “Look right, Blake? What do you think?” “Yes, seems like the angle is right, Gus.” Lucien told him.

“So if we are right, Blake – “ Gus walked up to Aaron, felt his head, into his neck – and discovered an area that was darkening into a long, slender bruise. “Well, well, look at this everyone. Took a couple of days to appear, but it is going to be one hell of a bruise. Need pictures of this bruise, folks. Who will tell Charlie or Danny?” “I will, Gus,” Diane said. 

“Aaron, can I feel your neck and skull?” Gus asked. As he was examining Aaron’s skull, he found a very tender place near the base of Aaron’s skull. Tears rolled from Aaron’s eyes as he said, “Gus, my God what did you just do to me?” “Sorry, sorry Aaron, I really am sorry. Yes, more to this than we first thought. Lucien let me feel your head again. And, Diane, can you get several cold packs for Aaron’s neck?” Gus asked her. 

“Gus, please be gentle,” Lucien told him, hoping he was not as sensitive as Aaron was. Gus hit a tender spot, in the same relative location as Aaron, but at least it was 6-8 weeks healed. “Alright, we need another set of x-rays for these two. None of us saw this on the initial films for either of them. Need to take them from a slightly different angle I think,” Gus told the group. 

Lucien entered into the discussion, “I propose that we will find _at a minimum_ stress fractures of the transverse processes of the first few vertebrae. I am thinking not a gun butt did this, but the highly trained hand, maybe in some sort of glove with a metal covering or something like that, of a professional killer.” “And I think our killer just missed putting both Blake and Aaron out of commission for the long term,” Gus finished the line of thinking. “Yes, Gus I agree,” Lucien said, swallowing slowly, looking at Jean, reaching for her hands. 

“Well, Blake, you have joined the forensic team once again. How is the head now?” Gus asked Lucien, with a grin on his face, hoping he had broken through Lucien’s morning terror. “Gus, I am um feeling more human now. Aaron thank you for helping this morning. I am getting overwhelmed with what is happening to me, memories coming out in heavy doses, no way to process them, figure them out, and I just nearly explode,” Lucien tried to explain. “And how many days have you been in hospital?” Richard asked. “I think maybe four mornings, right? I need more time, more time to recover, but I want it to happen so much faster, I do,” Lucien continued holding Jean’s hand, kissed her hand several times, smiled at her. “Jean, I am going to whip this, I am. I think the POW team and Gus will figure out a way out of the quicksand and muck lurking in my brain. They have to,” Lucien smiled at his Jean and held her hands. 

“Gus, I will write up the orders for additional x-rays for both Aaron and Lucien. Will take care of it this morning,” Diane told him. “Thank you, Diane.”

“Major, tell us as much as you remember about the morning you got hit,” Richard asked Lucien, as he sat next to Jean on the side of the bed. “Richard, I got hit on the head, from nowhere, dark, wasn’t doing anything, never saw the person, not really awake when it happened, so much pain, needed help and no one came,” Lucien told them. “Let me feel your skull, Major. Let’s be certain it is the same as yesterday. I know Hugh and Gus just did this, but let me feel your head as well. We are all here to help you. Are you calming down some?” Richard asked him, looking into his eyes, which were still filled with tears. “Yes, my head hurt so bad, Hannam helped me. Finally got me onto a ship, back to – um I don’t know where. Days, maybe weeks later we were in, let’s see, starts with a ‘C’ – Chicago – can’t be, not even the right country, um not Cairns, but yes, Canberra. Yes that is the name of the city. He kept me protected, hidden. Can’t remember where we were. Came with me here – stayed in the nasty sleeping place. Sometimes mornings are still so scary, so scary, – well, you all know that, don’t you?” Lucien told them.

“Lucien, you gave us more information and I will put Danny and Charlie on it. We will look at you passports and try to reconstruct a timeline for your return to Australia. We found a bus ticket from Canberra to Melbourne, arriving in the city about Nov. 20. Remember from the x-rays, we think you suffered the fracture 6-8 weeks ago, and you told us in Cambodia. So that would have been in October sometime. You said Hannam helped you. Do you think he hit you?” “No, No, I do not. There has to be a third person – I just do not know who or why he did it or what I did to make him do it. I am winding down now, not so anxious. Thank you all so much. I am still such a mess in the mornings, I am.” 

Diane looked at the group and said, “Let’s all take a deep breath, step back a bit, and make some simple decisions about food. I have several full breakfasts being delivered about now. Who would like one?” Everyone shot their hands into the air, almost in unison. “Be right back with them.”

Diane rolled the food into the room, everyone spread out in the room and began eating. “Blake, you remembered many new items this morning, you realize that, right?” Gus asked. “Yes I did, but I get hung up on the bad stuff and need to realize I am moving the story line along. Just want it to be faster,” Lucien answered. “Lucien, Danny will be here about 8:15 this morning. Going to start working on the Hannam materials they found last evening,” Jean updated him on the morning plans. “And Lucien, I will be leaving for Ballarat at noon for afternoon hours and group session. Will be back by midnight. I am leaving orders for you tonight, if needed,” Richard told him. “Of course. But I am going to try to be a good boy today, I am,” Lucien grinned and announced to the group. 

Aaron stayed in the room and ate breakfast with them. At times he grimaced, swallowed slowly, and Hugh asked him what could they do to help him. “Just my head, the noises, the uncertainty. You know being here, by myself, how long, just thinking too much,” Aaron began to say. Then Jean broke into his musings, “Aaron, now that you can get out of bed, what about eating with Lucien and me, and well whoever else is eating with us? I can imagine you would like a change of scenery, need some clothing, toiletry items, shoes – you know things from your place. I could ask Charlie or Danny to get those things for you. Would that help? “ “Jean, that is so thoughtful. No one at my place to do that sort of thing for me,” Aaron told her. “Aaron, you will be in hospital as long as Blake is here. So you will have quite a bit of company, someone to share meals with, and when you feel like it, use the whirlpool, walk the hallways. I do not want you home by yourself. Too risky. Let us take care of you,” Richard told him. “Yes, um Richard, I will. Thank you.”

Once Gus finished eating, Jean thanked him for all of his assistance with Lucien. “Gus, you have talents beyond Orthopaedic surgery that I did not appreciate. Thank you for calming Lucien down this morning,” Jean told him. Gus grinned at Jean, touched her shoulder, “Any time, Jean. Your Blake is a good man.” “Gus, you pulled a quick one on me, using some sleight of hand, got me thinking about solving the angle of attack and not thinking about my head hurting – quite clever. And I thank you,” Lucien told his friend. Lucien extended his hand and instead of shaking hands, Gus gave Lucien a hug. 

“Remember, Colonel, _I have_ the morning terror in my pocket, you don’t, not now.” “Gus, I will try to remember that. You know that is such a hokey strategy, don’t you?” Lucien told him. “And you Blake, bought right into it! Didn’t you?” Gus told him, with a slap on his good leg. “I did. And you helped me.”

“Now there is a limit to me being a nice, touchy, feely person, Blake,” Gus told him as he repositioned his left leg onto the apparatus, adjusted the elevation of the knee. “Your leg stays in this apparatus today, all day. Understood?” Lucien nodded in agreement. “I will pack his knee in cold compresses. What about hot and cold packs for both Aaron and Lucien’s neck?” Diane asked Gus. “Of course, good ideas Diane. Thank you,” Gus said as he walked out of the room, assuming his surgeon’ persona.

Richard followed Gus out to the nurse’s station. “Got a few minutes to chat, Gus?” “Of course, Richard. Surgeons area always late for surgery, right? We are such arrogant –” Gus said with a chuckle. “Richard, I hope I did not step on your medical toes this morning. Just jumped into help our mutual friend, who does not deserve what he is going through. He seemed in such distress. I have seen more tears come from that man’s eyes in the last few days than the entire time I have known him. He hurts and does not have a clue why. It is so damn unfair. So I conned him, but if it works, then no heavy meds. If it doesn’t, you boys will have to figure out a drug regimen, long term perhaps,” Gus told Richard. 

“No, you did not step on my toes Gus. I was surprised he took your bait, but he is open to alternative approaches, so let’s keep that in mind for the long term. I am going to Ballarat this afternoon for appointments and a group session. Will be back about midnight. I will leave orders for this evening if Lucien begins to ‘tank’ once again,” Richard explained. “Add my phone number to the list of numbers that Carol or Diane can call while you are gone. Give my best to Matthew and Alice. Now I really have to leave,” Gus said, grinning at Richard, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know how much Blake means to all of you, I do. Let’s get him back – in as good as shape as we can.”

After everyone left the room, Lucien asked Jean to help him take a shower. “Jean, what do you think? Will you help me if I forget what to do?” “Of course, let’s get your leg down, on your crutches and into the shower. I want to clean up as well,” Jean told him. Once Lucien was sitting on the shower bench, Jean turned the water on, handed him the bar of soap and some shampoo. After a few minutes, Lucien smiled at Jean and asked, “Can you wash my back for me? Tell me what it looks like, like you did before I left?” “Certainly, move forward a bit on the bench, let me get behind you.” Jean began talking to him, falling easily back into their old habits when she worked with his back. “Gus seemed to really settle you down, help you this morning. Quite frankly, I am still in shock at – well you know he has a reputation of being hard to get along with, not understanding what a patient is feeling – and this morning, he seemed to have an insight into you and your head injury,” Jean said to him, kissing his neck. “Yes, Jean, he made a major difference in my head hurting, noises rebounding in my head,” Lucien told her, reaching for her hand to hold.

As she finished with his back, he finally noticed, more like felt, became aware that she was – “Jean, Jean, you have nothing on, not a stitch, oh my you look so good to me, feel so nice, I could just, um –“ “And what is stopping you, my handsome, very wet boy?” Jean turned off the water, got in front of Lucien, he kissed her everywhere he could land several quick kisses, pulled her close to him, sat her down on his good leg, and held her. “Jeannie, you can’t imagine how much I missed you, holding you, touching you – “ “And Lucien Blake, I think I missed you even more,” Jean told him, with a raised eyebrow, a mischievous grin, and reached for his mouth for a deep, passionate kiss. 

“Jean, I can’t get to you like I want to, sitting on this bench, bum knee in the way, um –“ “Lucien, what if I sit more evenly on your lap, face you, and maybe straddle your body, try not to put too much weight on your bad leg, would that be better?” “Yes, Jean, let’s try it. Don’t fall getting re-arranged. Now, um, yes, good, much better, you are not hurting my leg. What do you think?” Lucien asked her. “Yes, I am fine. Let me hold on to you.” “Jeannie, I think we are waking someone up. I feel him working his way between us. He has been much more active the last couple of days than he has in months,” Lucien told Jean, kissing her on the mouth, pushing her hair away from her eyes. “Lucien, probably just the drugs decreasing, what else could it be?” Jean asked him, teasing him. “Well, let me explain something to you, Mrs. Blake. We – me and Radcliffe – as you well know, and hopefully remember, get our inspiration from one gorgeous lady, my Jeannie, you, my love. Drugs maybe a part of it, but I missed you in so many different ways, I can’t even begin to count them,” Lucien told Jean, as he held her tightly to his chest. Lucien could feel Jean’s tears falling onto his chest. “I love you so much Jean. Thank you for waiting for me.” “Lucien, of course I would wait for you. Never any doubt in my mind that you would come back,” Jean told him as she began kissing him. 

They both heard a knock on the door and looked at each other – Jean said, “first the telephone.” “And then our boarders forgetting their key to the house,” Lucien added. “Add in the knock on this door,” Jean said. Lucien continued, “Little Blake wanting to sleep with us.” “Our love life can get a bit complicated by other people, can’t it?” Jean said, with a silly grin on her face, matched by Lucien’s teasing eyebrows, flirting at her. “Yes, who is it? We are fine. Taking a shower, together, passionately kissing each other – “ Lucien said mischievously. Jean hit him on the chest, “Lucien!”

“So sorry. This is Carol. It is now 7:30. Danny just called and he is on schedule to be here by 8:00, maybe earlier. So, as much as I hate to interrupt your time together behind closed doors – “


	17. New Discoveries

Ch 17 New Discoveries 

By 8 AM, Carol had helped Lucien get a shirt and a pair of shorts on, was back in bed with his leg elevated, still towel drying his hair when Danny walked into the room with Bill Hobart. True to his word, Matthew had assigned Bill to sort the duffle bags and ruck sack they found the night before. “Morning, Doc, look who I have with me,” Danny said to Lucien. Lucien looked up from under the towel, and said, “Um, well, Good Morning,” as he was trying his best to find a name, looking intently at Bill, but was getting nowhere. “I am usually in the uniform of the Ballarat Police not in civvies, that probably threw you, didn’t it Doc?” “Yes, it did. The voice belongs to Bill Hobart, right?” “Yes, it does, Doc.” “How early did you get up, Bill?” “Really early. Boss drove us to the depot so I could take the 6 AM train. I had two constables, in plain clothes, accompany me. They are on the next train back to Ballarat. Danny picked me up at the depot. Had a quick ride in a squad car here.” 

Bill continued, “I am here to help Danny and Charlie with all the gear they discovered last night. We are going to devise an approach to this and I will be recording, sorting, thinking about questions, leads we need to pursue. I have also been working with Rose on her research about your disappearance. I will be here all week and attend the Investigative meeting on Friday with Matthew, Rose, Danny and Charlie.” “Doc, we need to get Bill started on his work and I need to play at Detective for the Melbourne police, at least for part of the day. Charlie will join us later. We will probably eat dinner with you and Jean. Where is Auntie Jean?” Danny asked. 

“Still in the shower. Should be out soon,” Lucien told the two. As they began to exit the room, Jean walked out of the shower, fully clothed, looking very smart, and Bill told her, “Good to see you Mrs. Blake. Matthew, Alice and Rose send their regards. I will be just down the hall today if you need any help.” “Bill, I will let you get started and then pay you a visit later this morning. It is good to see you,” Jean told him.

Smiling at Jean, Lucien asked her, “Will you join me for a minute? I have a question for you. What if, well, what if I didn’t straighten my curls with hair cream, let it go a little bit wild and curly, would that bother you? You know, I am not seeing any patients, I am not the police surgeon now, not wearing my three piece suits. I don’t have to look ‘spiffy’ all of the time, do I?” “You would certainly have a different look, more grey than brown in your hair now. I don’t know. Never seen you without your hair ‘plastered’ down. Why not try it and see if you like it – and if I like it. Will be interesting when Blake sees you – sometimes he is so uninhibited with what he says,” Jean told him, reaching for his hair, feeling it, playing with the curls. “Jean I quite like what you are doing, keep it up,” Lucien told her, grinning, teasing her with his dancing eyebrows. 

Carol entered the room, and said, “Lucien, I need to pack your knee, make certain the leg is elevated properly. And I have cold compresses for your neck. So let me get that completed. And my apologies for knocking of the door this morning. That’s twice that I have interrupted you two.” “We needed to get a move on it this morning. No apology needed, Carol,” Jean told her. “Here is the morning paper. Thought you might like to read it. I am going next door to check on Aaron and pack his neck with cold compresses. Would you both like a cup of tea?” “Of course, thank you,” Lucien told her. “Carol, how long with the neck compresses? I was going to put lotion on Lucien’s back,” Jean asked. “Wait 20 minutes or so. I will put warm ones on later today for him as well.”

Bill had worked diligently for an hour on sorting the gear. He had a legal pad filled with notes, inventory of each bag, questions, thoughts to talk with Danny and Charlie about. The most interesting find so far was in Hannam’s duffle bag. Deep in the bag was a hidden compartment that he discovered by feel, he really could not see it, but it just seemed out of place to him. Once he had it opened, he found seven small bottles of what? Tablets he called them, but of what? The bottles had the numbers – 9, 1, 19, 65, 12, 14, 70 – on them. He placed each bottle in a separate bag. 

Bill called Charlie and Danny and told them about the bottles. Then he called Matthew and Dr. Harvey. About 20 minutes later, Richard and James showed up to talk to him. “Bill, Charlie called us about the bottles you discovered. Can we see them?” Bill showed them the bottles. “Let’s get Lucien and Jean in here, and we will call Matthew and Alice. As they were getting ready to start the conversation, Charlie and Danny walked in. Richard took the lead in the conversation and described the color, size, shape of the tablets for everyone. All of the bottles had at least two tablets. 

“Alice, your opinion?” “Richard, these could be the drugs Lucien is on. Your Saturday ideas maybe spot on. We need to get them analyzed, and compared to what was determined Saturday.” “My thoughts exactly, Alice.” 

“James, what do you think?” Alice asked him. “I want to know what they contain. We need to understand what Lucien is on and how to manage the withdrawal. I would imagine the lab could use these as their ‘standard’ to confirm his bloods and urines from the last few days. They were not able to get back to us yesterday, this should help them,” James told them, sharing his thoughts about the drugs.

“But, listen all of you, Hannam has been so ill the last week that he could not have given me anything for days. Don’t you think I would be showing more symptoms than I have. I know the first two nights were bad, but last night, well, I was just high from being in A&E, don’t you think? But then again, this morning was nearly a disaster, wasn’t it? I am proving to be a challenge to all of you, aren’t I?” Lucien said, shaking his head slowly back and forth.

Richard added, “Lucien, here is my question: Why now? Why did you surface now? You have been gone two years and then some. You have been in Melbourne for over two weeks. Why didn’t you just take a bus on to Ballarat when you arrived here?” “Richard, I don’t have an answer for you,” Lucien replied, wiping tears from his eyes. Danny asked, “Do you think finding you at ‘Jean’s Toys’ makes more sense now – you were sitting at a place that reminded you of Jean? But you could not figure out how to get back to her? You were near the Military Hospital where you and Jean have spent many days over the time period of the grant? Did the levels of whatever you are on drop down enough that you could begin to process memories differently? Is that possible?” 

“You all have excellent points. I hope as the levels drop, my memories are not so scattered, convoluted, confused, frightening. Was Aaron put on the same drugs as me?” “We are still working on that. We know that you both have serious head injuries to complicate your recovery,” Richard told Lucien. 

Then Jean asked, “Do you think these tablets are standard, known drugs or could they be experimental drugs that somebody gave Hannam to use to keep Lucien under control?” Alice spoke first, “Jean you are proposing a very interesting idea. Determining what these tablets contain may prove to be more difficult than Richard or I had hoped.” “Agreed and I will alert the lab to think very broadly on what they are composed of,” Richard told everyone. 

“Bill, can I look at what was in my duffle bag?” “I have everything out of the bag and it is sitting in piles on this table, Doc,” Bill told Lucien. Jean rolled him over to the table. It reminded her of his steamer trunks that were shipped from Hong Kong. Lucien looked at the clothing, two sets of fatigues, a pair of boots, socks, underwear, two sweaters, a scarf, gloves, three pistols, not loaded, with holsters and ammunition, a silencer for one of the guns, a spotting scope, binoculars, a garrote, two knives with cases, some medical equipment, but no reading material, no journals, no addresses, no phone numbers. The only name on any of the clothing was on the shirts, ‘LR Blake’ was all it said. No indication of his rank anywhere. 

“Lucien, what is here is just so ‘generic,’ such ‘common’ items for any soldier, except all of the killing implements. If you were using these things, I am surprised you did not get shot, knifed, injured sometime during the last two years,” Jean told him. Hugh told Jean, “The first night he was in A&E, we looked him over with a fine tooth comb. Beyond the knee and head issues, no recent injuries, no injection marks, even checked between his fingers and toes. If he is on something, it is by mouth. Lucien, was Hannam adding it to your water? Charlie, is there a canteen from last night?” “Yes, Hugh. There is one labeled ‘Blake’ and here it is.” “We need to have this checked for chemicals as well,” Richard said.

Alice, James and Richard were speaking on the phone about testing the bottles of tablets, Lucien’s blood and urine samples, the canteens. They had determined a plan and Richard would get started on it as soon as he hung up the phone. They all agreed Lucien had a point, if he was coming down from whatever it was, he was doing surprisingly well so far. But, everyone knew it was still very early days.

“Lucien, compare how you feel on Saturday to right now for me,” Alice asked. “Alice, on Saturday I was so sleepy, could not hold onto memories or thoughts as hard as I tried. Right now, my memories are still everywhere but my thoughts are clearer, there is more structure to them, I am following the arguments all of you are presenting. But I was really frightened when I woke up this morning. I will let Richard tell you about it when he sees you later today.”

“Let me see what Hannam had in his ruck sack and duffel bag. You should x-ray the bags as well. Be certain you have everything out of them,” Lucien said. He started looking through the clothing, nothing any different than his. There were three guns, ammo, silencer, garrote, three knives, binoculars, nothing with his name on it except his shirts. Then on to the ruck sack. Three passports, again, same pictures, but different names on the French and German passports than the military passport. Bank book with deposits of several thousand pounds, some cash, a bank withdrawal slip. Military discharge paperwork, military awards, campaign medals, like Lucien. 

Bill had found a couple of hidden compartments in the ruck sack and had the contents on the table. “Here is a small book, in code perhaps, the numbers agree with the bottles I found. Is this a record of what he gave the Doc?” Everyone gathered around the book. Very interesting idea, Bill. Let’s look into that,” Matthew said. 

Matthew continued, “Alright everyone, let me tell you what Bill and I discovered on Sunday. Bill remembered Lucien’s agency folder and dossier that William Munro was collecting on him. When Munro left, Frank Carlyle found the file and hid it in our police station. We found it on Sunday. I have a copy here in Ballarat and Bill has one on his person now. Danny or Charlie, where it can be secured in the POW wing? It describes the operations where Lucien killed two people – Bao Cheng and Victor Gennardy. This was after the war and before he returned to Ballarat. Rose has some ideas on how to expand what happened, without contacting the folks in Canberra. Bill is helping her with the research while he is in Melbourne this week. One idea the Ballarat group discussed on Sunday is this – what if the abduction of Lucien is somehow tied to those two killings? We have our mystery man to identify and we are wondering if there may be a link to Lucien’s previous service.” “Matthew, excellent work, brainstorming, and finding the folder. The last time I saw it was when Derek was killed and I was sitting in jail,” Lucien told his good friend.

“Lucien, this is Alice. I will talk with Richard today about the difficult morning you had today. But I also wanted to tell you that Matthew and I will be in Melbourne on Friday and spend the weekend with you and Jean. Put together a list of what we need to bring and we will try to find everything for the two of you.” “Thank you Alice. Good idea. I miss talking with you each day,” Jean told her. 

“Matthew, I need a ride from the depot to the Blake house about 2:30 today. I will have a security detail with me. I will also need a ride back to Melbourne after the small group this evening. We can talk more at dinner,” Richard told him. “Richard, Rose will pick you up at the depot and she will have a Constable with her as well. Everyone can eat dinner with us,” Matthew said.

“Everyone, we need a chalk board in here. We can all add ideas, suggestions, notes thoughts to it. Leave it in the room,” Jean told the group. “Jean, yes I remember the board in my office, and how Simon Lo used it when we investigating the quiz show murder, right? And when you helped me solve the murder of the fellow in the park – our John Doe. Oh yes, get us a board now. Who do we ask?” Lucien exclaimed. “I will take care of it,” James told the group.

“Everyone, I have some verification for Aaron Gage. Fingerprints taken from him on Saturday afternoon are identical to those from his Army documents, his medical school records, and match his tropical medical residency program. Yes, Aaron Gage is who he says he is,” Alice explained. “What about the mystery man?” Jean asked. “Still working on the mystery man. But he is in isolation and handcuffed to the bed,” Charlie told them.

Before Matthew hung up the telephone, he asked James about lodging for Bill on Lucien’s floor. “Yes, Matthew, he can stay here. Another level of security is fine with me. He can eat with us as well. Danny and Charlie can work with him here, take him to the library, newspaper etc.,” James told him. “And one more thing – a safe, for the dossier?” Bill asked. “Got a couple of ideas – I will show Bill his options,” James said. 

Richard was about ready to leave for the train depot. But he still needed to have a final conversation with Carol about managing Lucien while he was gone, and to make certain she had phone numbers for James, Hugh, and Gus. As he finished signing off on the orders, Joseph walked up. “Richard, I heard from Gus that Lucien had a difficult early morning. Make certain Carol and Diane have my number as well. I am surprised how Gus handled the Major this morning. Gus can be soft – you know the only person I can think of that Gus really shows his softer side to is Little Blake. I think Blake sees right through that gruff exterior of Gus. Come to think of it, their relationship has only developed since Lucien has been gone,” Joseph told Richard. 

After Richard and Joseph went their separate ways, Carol came into Lucien’s room. ”Ready to come with me to get new x-rays of your hard head, Lucien?” “Certainly Carol. Did James ask you about a blackboard for us to use?” “Yes. Got the board and it is in the same room as Bill is working in. Also plenty of chalk, erasers, and a cover so Little Blake doesn’t play with it and erase your ideas,” Carol told both Jean and Lucien. Once the images of Lucien’s head and neck were completed, Carol went to Aaron’s room and walked him into the x-ray suite. She noticed that Aaron was still quiet, somewhat withdrawn, maybe from his episode with Gus earlier in the day. Who wouldn’t be - with Gus’ big hands holding your neck? 

Aaron walked back to his room with Carol, and as they walked by Lucien’s room, Jean asked, “Going to eat lunch with us Aaron? Bill Hobart from Ballarat will be joining us. Will be some interesting conversation I would imagine.” “I won’t be in the way will I?” Aaron asked, with a tentative tone to his voice. “Not in the least. Join us. And again, Aaron, I am so sorry about this morning’s outburst. Hoping I can tone it down each day and work my way through this and get back to a more normal state,” Lucien told him. 

“You know, I had always heard that Gus was a character, rough, no bedside manner, but a damn fine surgeon. How he handled you this morning Lucien was just incredible. How he made me cry was –“ Aaron stopped mid-sentence. “Aaron, I think he did not anticipate the bruise or the severe injury he discovered at the base of your skull. He was quite sorry that he hurt your neck. Gus is rough on the exterior, that is for certain. I know on Saturday if I could have reached him, I would have popped him in the chops, he hurt my knee so badly. But now, well, it is better, does not hurt as much,” Lucien added. 

While the four of them were eating and talking, Hugh wandered into the room, carrying a lunch tray for himself. “Hello, everyone. Heard the conversation and I am inviting myself to join you. Carol told me new x-rays were taken this morning, and I have placed a rush on them. Will be interesting to see what we discover. After I eat, I have time to check on Aaron and Lucien. Get some samples from the two of you.” Carol walked in and Aaron asked her, “Carol, how are you and Diane managing so many physicians taking care of Lucien and me? Seems like they are a tag team, doesn’t it?” “Aaron, it does. We both require updated notes and orders whenever any one of them is here. I make them read all notes first. Don’t want any contradicting orders,” Carol told him. “She is a real task master, Aaron, and really, just like a Sergeant,” Hugh told him.

Before Bill left to continue his analysis of evidence, Carol walked him to a room on the floor where he could stay for the week. “Carol, thank you. That will save me time coming and going each day.” “No, don’t thank me, thank James when you see him. Meals are included too.” When she returned to Lucien’s room, she began her next task. “Aaron, let’s go back to your room and I will get samples for the lab. Hugh will start on the physical exam of Lucien. And then we will switch,” Carol told them both. “Yes, Sergeant Carol, sounds like a plan to me,” Hugh told them all, with a grin on his face.

“Lucien, while Hugh is dealing with you, I am going to talk to Bill and begin working on the board,” Jean told him. Before she left, she walked up to the bed and gave him a kiss. “Jean you are making his blood pressure increase, you know that, right?” Hugh told her with a smile. “I would hope so, Hugh!” Hugh cleaned Lucien’s ears, and shook his head. “Major, your ears are about the same as when you entered hospital. I think one more day with the drops and we talk to the Oriental Medicine folks about another approach. Agreed?” “Yes, Hugh. I have had this infection so long, so tired of it, maybe a switch to another formulation will help,” Lucien told him. “Alright, let me set up the EKG and get another tracing. Anything to report to me on the cardiac front?” Hugh asked. “Nothing. Nothing at all,” Lucien told him. “Let me get your leg elevated and knee packed in cold compresses. I know that Gus will be checking in tomorrow and perhaps change the brace for you. I certainly hope he downsizes it – will give you a bit more mobility.” “Yes, staying put this afternoon in bed, hopefully the swelling decreases. I really don’t like just lying around, but I need to, I know that, just hard to behave myself,” Lucien told him, with a grin developing on his face.

“Hugh, before you leave, tell me about Hannam. Haven’t heard anything since last night,” Lucien asked, hoping that Robert was still among the living. “James has been with him most of the time since his admittance. He is in ICU, and Major, he is critically ill. Too many days of high fever, complicated by dehydration, and the malaria strain – _Plasmodium falciparum_ – is a tough one to treat. You said he would not take the medication from the Oriental Medicine shop you wanted him to. I am going to talk with Aaron about new medications for _Plasmodium falciparum_ and see what ideas he has. And now some positive news, Major you appear to me to be doing well this afternoon. Please stay in bed, get some sleep, keep your leg elevated.” “I will do my best, Hugh.”

While Hugh attended to Lucien and Aaron, Jean and Bill began to set up the board. “Bill, I have some ideas – let me know what you think. Passports for Hannam and Lucien – What countries? Entry and exit dates? Discharge papers – When did they enter? Discharged? Track them in Cambodia from when they arrived until they left in October or early November 1964. When they arrived in Australia. Canberra to Melbourne in mid-November 1964. Compare Lucien’s and Aaron’s skull fractures.” “And Mrs. Blake, let’s add The Mystery Man – fingerprints, name or names, passports. Then add in Bao Cheng and Victor Gennardy episodes that are in Lucien’s dossier and agency file. Also, Danny and Charlie told me about two men spotted in Melbourne in October of 1962 , who disappeared in January 1963, only to reappear a couple of weeks ago, late November. Always around the Oriental Medicine shop and hospital. One guy is short, wears a slouch hat and the other guy is tall and has a beard,” Bill concluded. They looked at one another, laughed at each other. Both of them had attacked the board with chalk and absent mindedly had wiped their hands on their clothing. “We are quite the pair of investigators, aren’t we?” Jean asked Bill. “But, Mrs. Blake we have an excellent start on what we know. Now to sit and think and plan what I need to do, tell the Ballarat group about,” Bill told Jean.

Thirty minutes later, Hugh walked into the room where Jean and Bill were talking and puts an arm around Jean’s shoulders, “Jean you are next on my list. Let me get all of you taken care of in one stop. Carol has a room for us to use. Ready?” “Yes, Hugh, let’s get it done. Bill I will be back later. Don’t tell Lucien about this, alright?” Jean asked him. “Didn’t see a thing Mrs. Blake.” “Bill, Jean is perfectly fine, just precautionary,” Hugh told him.

When Jean returned to Lucien’s room, he was in bed with his leg elevated and packed in cold compresses, and had his neck packed in warm compresses. It appeared to Jean that Carol had ridden herd on him, got him to behave, probably making him follow Hugh’s orders. Lucien was looking at the book with numbers that Bill had found in Hannam’s gear. “Looking for a pattern in this Jean is really hard. I just don’t see it yet. Would you sit with me? Or maybe even lie down with me for a while this afternoon?” Lucien asked her as he reached for her hand, kissed it, and then noticed the chalk dust on her slacks. “What is this? Chalk? Have you attacked the board?” “Yes, Lucien, Bill and I have written all over the board, all of our ideas, the connections we see, what we need to research,” Jean explained, smiling at Lucien, leaning over to him and kissing his face. 

Jean slipped out of her blouse and slacks, put on her robe, and crawled into bed. Lucien broke into a grin that encompassed his entire face, held Jean close to him, and let out a huge sigh of relief. “Jeannie, Jeannie, thank you for being here, staying with me, believing in me, and just being you. I am so, so lucky, and I realize it. I am going to try to be a good patient, I want so badly to go home to our house in Ballarat as soon as they think I can, and to be by ourselves.” “Lucien, I think you need to realize, that during your absence there are now many people in and out of our house – I doubt very much that we will ever be just by ourselves. Except in our bedroom – well maybe, unless Blake is staying in the house,” Jean told him, snuggling even closer. They held each other tightly, kissed each other dozens of times, hugged, then began to relax and before long, they were both asleep. When Carol checked on Lucien, she found them napping, with Lucien’s arm encircling Jean. He seemed peaceful for the first time since Saturday. She thought about all of the time they were separated, how they needed time to rebuild their relationship. She dimmed the lights, pulled the door shut, and walked back to her work station.

By 5 PM, Carol had talked to the group about dinner choices and had ordered a few additional trays. Very quickly she was learning that this crew ate a great deal of food, numbers were unpredictable – ranged from physicians and nurses to coppers. The most positive thing – Lucien Blake was regaining his appetite. If he continued at this pace, his gaunt, haggard look would begin to leave. 

Once the food was delivered, Carol brought several trays into Lucien’s room as Aaron, Bill, Lucien, and Jean were chatting. This assignment was certainly different for her and Diane. They were considered equals, Jean had made certain they knew they were to eat with them if they had the time and it made sense with their schedule. About half way through dinner, Diane, Danny, Charlie and James joined them to eat. 

Jean looked at the group and began talking, “Bill and I have started the board. We have quite a bit of information already posted. Take a look at it and add new ideas as you think of them. There is a sheet to cover it when no one is in the room. Lucien has the notebook with the drug numbers in it. Still working with it.”

Danny and Charlie delivered a suitcase containing Aaron’s clothing, shoes, and mail. Danny returned his apartment key and told him they had moved his car to a secure location. “Thank you so much. I don’t not even know you two and you are taking such good care of me. Why?” Aaron asked them. “Aaron, you are part of the extended Blake household. We take care of each other, try to make each day better than it could be, it is as simple as that,” Jean told him, smiling at the entire group. Yes, we have added another member to the Blake family, Jean thought.


	18. Updates

Ch 18 Updates 

Richard McCoy was use to his Tuesday train ride to Ballarat. He had started these weekly trips at Lucien Blake’s request years ago. He continued his treks when Lucien went missing so he could continue his individual appointments and Group Session for the POW grant. But most importantly, in his mind, was this – he wanted to help Jean work her way through this thoroughly awful, terrible time. She was a strong woman, she really was, had a good deal of resilience, but she was really being tested with Lucien’s absence. He also found the trip a time to reflect, read, think, unwind. He always had time to talk with Jean, ate dinner with Jean and perhaps Alice, Matthew and Rose, then led the Group Session. Afterwards, he talked with Matthew, and they spent many an evening sitting in the sunroom, drinking Lucien’s scotch, and trying unsuccessfully to solve the world’s problems. 

This was the first Tuesday that Lucien was back in Melbourne in hospital. He was still fragile, and his first two nights had been quite rocky but last night was not as bad. However, this morning was dicey but Gus helped Lucien in ways that they were all still talking about. Richard had lined up competent and caring physicians to help Carol and Diane tonight. He promised them, he would call and check on Lucien, when he arrived in Ballarat, after his appointments, and before he left for Melbourne. Furthermore, they knew how to contact him and he was trying to think positive about his good friend. But, he knew there was inevitably more to come spilling out of Lucien Blake. Even in his best days, before he was abducted, Lucien was unpredictable.

When Rose met Richard at the depot, she discovered they each had their own security detail. Richard had two Melbourne policemen with him and she had Ballarat Constable Peter Crowe with her. Everyone piled into Constable Crowe’s squad car and headed for the Blake residence. The three policemen, walked around the outside of the house, made certain it was secure and then the Melbourne police sat in the sunroom, watching the rear of the house. Peter Crowe stationed himself near the front door. 

Cliff and Allie, friends of the Blake household, as well as participants in the Group Sessions, arrived with food for their dinner. Matthew had called Allie and talked to her about the Group Session that evening, how they could use some food, and he desperately needed some homemade biscuits, perhaps even a cake. “Allie, I am not too proud to ask you. I just knew you would help me, help us. Thank you so much,” Matthew told her. 

Allie, knowing that there would be extra folks at the Blake dinner table this evening, called a couple of her friends to help. When Cliff and Allie arrived at the Blake house, Cliff walked in with a huge kettle of warm soup, several loaves of freshly baked bread, and of course, for Matthew, biscuits and a Lamington cake. Jean’s Group Session women made certain that the Blake household were not eating from the freezer this evening.

Once the food was deposited in the kitchen, Richard told Cliff, “Cliff, just the man I need to talk to.” Richard put his arm around his shoulder and walked Cliff to Jean and Lucien’s bedroom. “Cliff, look at this bathroom with me. Lucien will not be able to get in and out of this tub for months. So, think about how to redesign the room – with a walk-in shower – and we need it completed in two weeks. I am thinking Lucien will be home for Christmas in Ballarat.” “Dr. McCoy, that is such good news. I will ask Vincent and Arnie to help me. The three of us want to visit Doc on Saturday. Do you think that is possible? If it is, I will talk with you on Saturday about this remodel. If not I will give Joseph our ideas when he is here on Thursday,” Cliff told him. “I will ask Lucien and Jean about your visiting. This week has been up and down for him. Let me ask and then I will talk to Joseph before he comes here on Thursday,” Richard told Cliff. “And if you can figure out an approximate cost, that would be great.” 

Once Richard started individual appointments, Cliff went to his truck and got his tool chest. Alice had asked him to repair the kitchen faucet that was leaking. Allie straightened up the house, getting it ready for the Group Session later that evening. She also gathered up laundry and started a load. This Friday would be her normal ‘clean the house and do laundry for Jean’ and getting started early seemed like a good use of her time. 

After the individual appointments, Richard called Diane and talked to her about Lucien and how he was doing and heard good news. So far Lucien was behaving, stayed in bed, kept his leg elevated, even took a nap. By 6:15 or so, Allie had the soup warmed up and ready to eat, the bread sliced, tea kettle on, and everyone helped themselves to what they wanted to eat. Of course, Matthew was delighted with the biscuits and cake, eating his desserts first, while the others were given the evil eye if they came anywhere close to them. Alice just glared at him, “Matthew, you know better, don’t you?” “Of course I do, Alice. Not going to stop me though.”

After dinner, Richard and Alice walked to the surgery so they could talk privately about Lucien. Of course, Alice wanted an update about what was happening with Lucien, physically as well as psychologically. He described the morning terror episode, how Gus helped Lucien. Richard told her he had decided not to medicate Lucien at this point, and wanted to observe him in the morning. If the ‘terror’ returned, then he would move forward with medication, but he really did not want Lucien feeling hung over in the morning. After all he had a serious head injury and was still showing evidence of being drugged with several different agents.

“Alice, the ‘screaming starts’ to the morning were somewhat different. Sunday was being very frightened and the one today, his head was pounding and my goodness, let me tell you how Gus defused him. Gus surrounded Lucien with a bearhug and then started working on his neck – well, we could all see the relief in Lucien’s body. Lucien still is not certain who Gus is, except he helped him, as opposed to Saturday when he hurt his knee. Gus is even on call for tonight, if Lucien needs him.”

“Now, Aaron Gage’s involvement today was interesting and instructive. We now know the angle of the attack on both of them, that it was not a gun butt. Lucien figured out a hand, covered in some sort of metal glove, is probably the weapon of our mystery man. Aaron had a long slender bruise on his neck beginning to develop. Very tender area on his neck and skull. Gus did not realize how sore that area was and made Aaron shed tears. Gus apologized several times – which as you know, he rarely does,” Richard finished telling Alice his news. “Richard, I agree. Try to keep Lucien off of medications if you can. He is strong, but it may take some time for him to settle down. Let’s give it to him,” Alice explained her thinking.

When Richard started the Group Session, there were nine men sitting on the Blake couches and chairs. The first question was obvious – How is Lucien? Richard began to sketch out some basics, enough to satisfy curiosity but not wanting too much to enter the Ballarat gossip mill. “He is dealing with a serious head injury and a badly swollen knee. When he was discovered, he was dehydrated and we are still dealing with some of those remaining issues. His appetite is returning, still sleeping a great deal, and of course, Jean is with him. He will be on crutches for weeks,” Richard told them. Cliff told the group, “I asked Richard about three of us – me, Arnie and Vincent – visiting on Saturday. He will let me know. If not this weekend, maybe we go down the next one. Also, I think we need to provide food for Richard and Joseph for our Tuesday and Thursday sessions. There is a sign up sheet here. Allie is coordinating this.” Richard looked at them, shaking his head, “You know, we are all part of the Blake family, aren’t we? Thank you.”

Before they left for Melbourne, Richard called and talked with Diane. “Diane, this is Richard again. Just about ready to leave Ballarat. Tell me how Lucien is doing this evening.” “Richard, he is doing remarkedly well. Jean and he are talking about the POW grant, looking at the three papers, discussing patient numbers, what she is doing for the grant, and talking about the renewal. He is really getting caught up on your grant work. At times, Lucien sits and stares at Jean, smiling at her, seems so happy that she has contributed so much to the grant. Both of them are wide awake and are just across the hall from me. I am keeping an eye on both of them. And Aaron is good. Danny spent some time with him this evening. Charlie is napping in the room with Jean and Lucien. Hugh updated all of the records from his examinations, labs, x-rays from this afternoon. They are here at the desk for you to peruse when you return. Hugh is sleeping in the lounge tonight. He said to wake him up when you return if you need to. Hannam is still alive, somehow, some way, and James is with him. Joseph and Gus have called in twice tonight to check on your boy. Safe trip back, please.” “That is our intention as well, Diane. See you soon.”

While Richard was in Ballarat, Lucien seemed content to talk to Charlie, Danny and Aaron. Jean walked to an adjoining room with her satchel of grant materials and spread everything out on a table. She thought to herself – got a lot to accomplish tonight with the paper I am writing. I was planning on completing the first draft on Saturday morning before _the_ telephone call from Matthew – it certainly changed my day and my week. The group has a meeting on Friday, and there was a great deal to do to get ready for the meeting as well. 

Aaron returned to his room and was resting in his bed when he saw Hugh walk up to Diane’s desk. “Diane, I need Jean’s chart. Want to update her EKG, labs, physical exam like I have done for Aaron and Lucien. That way Richard will have all of the information on the trio when he returns later tonight. Then I am going to the lounge to take a nap. If you need me, come wake me up,” Hugh told her as he finalized his notes.

After Hugh left Diane’s desk, Aaron got out of bed, walked into Lucien’s room and sat down. Lucien was still talking with Charlie, who had volunteered to sit with his Boss this evening. “Charlie and Lucien, I overheard Hugh talking to Diane. Hugh not only checked on us today, he also worked with Jean. Is Jean doing alright? Is she ill?” Aaron asked with concern in his voice. “Well Aaron, I don’t know. No one has told me anything about an illness,” Lucien replied. Charlie spoke up, “Well, it is simple Doc. Ask her. She is just down the hallway.”

“Charlie, would you ask Diane to come in and wrap my leg so it is not so hard to walk? Then walk me to where Jean is working, would you?” Lucien asked. Diane entered the room, “So you want to walk without dragging a piece of metal on your leg, Lucien? I can do that. Let’s get your leg down and then I will work on wrapping it with the compression wrap. Charlie, come here and help me.” 

Once Diane was finished, Charlie got Lucien up and onto his crutches and they worked their way slowly down the hall. He was steady on the crutches now, taking deliberate steps, keeping the weight off of his knee. As they entered the room, Jean looked up, gave him a marvelous smile, and he settled into a chair around the table that she had all of her paperwork on. “Lucien, it is so good to see you made it to this room, that you wanted to see what I was doing.” Jean stood up, went to him and kissed him on the cheek and then hugged him. Diane helped her elevate his knee, stabilize it. “Dr. and Mrs. Blake you know where I am if you need anything, anything at all.” Charlie told them, “I will get all of us some tea.” He knew they needed time to talk in private.

“Um Jean, I understand that Hugh examined not only Aaron and me this afternoon, but you were on his list. Will you tell me what is going on? Are you ill?” Lucien asked her, with tears in his eyes, holding her hand, kissing it. “Jean, please you cannot be ill. I need you so much.” Jean smiled at Lucien, kissed him, and said, “Well, where do I begin? I had a cardiac event on Saturday morning about 6:30, just like you did. Alice helped me, like Hugh and company helped you. I think we got reconnected, back in sync, but they all think I am a bit touched in the head with that explanation. Now, why do I think that? Um, on January 21, 1963, I had my first cardiac event, very similar to this one. We were finishing up Surgery hours at home, and both Alice and James were there to help me. Alice, as did James and Hugh, followed up on me for weeks. Nearly drove me up the wall with their concern. I didn’t have any more episodes until Saturday morning. Do you know that Danny and Charlie told me that the slouch hat-bearded duo disappeared from Melbourne about the same time as my first episode? I think you left, and we got separated and –“ Jean told Lucien, voice trembling, needing to be held. “Come here, let me hold you, Jean.” 

Jean sobbed into his shoulder, Lucien held her tightly to his chest, kissing her neck and face. “Jean, my Jeannie, we will work through this, we will. You know that I love you. I will never recover if you are not with me. I know it. Please let us know if you are not feeling well, alright? No stubborn streak? Right?” Lucien pleaded with her. “And what about you – my handsome boy? You need to tell us as well, right?” Jean told him, eyebrow arched, sassy sound to her voice. They stayed in their embrace for several minutes. Then Jean pulled away, “Got a handkerchief?” “You bet, my lady makes certain I do, even if I am wearing a pair of her handmade shorts,” Lucien told her, teasing her, kissing her hand. “Jean, you must add that information to the board. You know the date that I left Melbourne, maybe Australia. Needs to be there,” Lucien told her. Jean got up, walked to the board, picked up the chalk and added the date. “There.”

When Charlie saw Jean at the board, he walked back into the room, brought the tea and biscuits, and sat near the door. “If you need anything, let me know.”

Looking at her with a grin on his face and Lucien said, “Jean, tell me about the grant since I have been gone. Will you? I need to begin understanding what has happened.” Jean pulled out paperwork to show him the patient numbers in Ballarat and Melbourne, participant numbers in the Group Sessions in both towns, some testimonials. “You know, Jean, this is quite impressive. Every year – there are more patients, aren’t there?” “Yes, that trend has not stopped. Even with you gone and the Melbourne physicians coming up to Ballarat, we still increased out-patient numbers,” Jean explained to Lucien. 

Then Jean looked at Lucien and said, “Oh my goodness, you need to see this as well.” She pulled out a copy of the first paper detailing the development of their idea, the implementation of it, and the descriptions of the Melbourne clinic and the Ballarat satellite facility. He looked at the initial numbers and then studied the new data she showed him. It was quite impressive indeed. “Mattie, you and I took James and Hugh’s idea and ran with it, didn’t we?” “We did, Lucien. No doubt about it.” Then he looked at the list of authors and saw J. R. B. Blake as the fifth author. Pointing at her name, “Jean, that is you, that is my gal, you have your first publication.” He reached for her to kiss her. “So proud, Jean, so proud.” Then he noticed his name,’ L. R. Blake,’ as the third author. His mouth dropped open, he looked at Jean. He was speechless. “That is my guy, do you know that, Lucien Blake?” Jean told him as she kissed him. “You are rarely mute – can you say something?” “Um well maybe later. I um surprised I really am.”

As he was processing what Jean just showed him, Jean handed him a proof copy of the second paper. “Lucien, this one is in press now and we will have copies in the next couple of weeks. If you notice it has the same five authors plus Alice Harvey. She joined the team, in your absence. Alice has done a marvelous job filling in for you. Your patients have adjusted to her, well, it took a while, but she is excellent with ‘live’ patients, she really is. Matthew asked her to be the Interim Police Surgeon. She now serves as the Police Surgeon, because regulations“– Lucien jumped in, “Only six months as Interim. She had to be appointed, Matthew had no choice.” “Lucien, he argued about it for weeks, but finally gave in. They both live in the house with me as well as Rose Anderson.” “Is Rose still with the paper?” “Yes, she is and has become a very good investigative journalist, as well as an excellent writer.”

“Here is the third paper I am editing. I need to get it into shape for Friday’s meeting. This one is about the Group Sessions we started in Ballarat. We are presenting it as a template of how to establish them in a small town, link it to a small practice, and connect it to the Melbourne grant. Authors will be slightly different.” “Jean, they should be Richard, Joseph, Mattie, and you.” “Well, you need to realize how important you were, how much of a difference you made to our patients. You are fifth author this time.”

“I have been included in all of these papers. Why, Jean?” “Because we all knew you would come back – to me, to the Blake Household, to your friends, to your patients, to the Grant team. We all knew you would,” Jean told him, smiling, kissing his hand. “Just how long would you have waited Jean?” “It is simple Lucien, ‘Until the Twelfth of Never and that's a long, long time.’ Do you remember that Johnny Mathis single?” “Yes, I do Jean, isn’t that the last line? Come closer to me, I need to hug you, kiss you. The line I remember is this: ‘Until the Twelfth of Never, I'll still be loving you.’” “Yes, Lucien Blake. Please keep coming back to me, keep loving me.”

It was nearly midnight when Richard walked down the hallway to get Jean’s and Lucien’s charts. Diane pointed him to the room across from the nurse’s station. He found Jean and Lucien still talking about the grant. Richard unpacked the Tuesday Group Session, his thoughts on the participants, what the topics were that night. “Lucien and Jean, they have a request for you to consider. Vincent, Arnie and Cliff want to visit on Saturday afternoon. Is that something you are ready to do Lucien? Do you recall them?” “I do not remember the names, not right now. But yes, tell them to come. I want to talk with them, Richard.” “Lucien, I think you made a good decision. They want so much to help you. I will let Joseph know and he will tell them when he is in Ballarat on Thursday.” 

“I also wanted to tell you this – Rose is hard at work on old newspaper accounts of the last two years where you and Hannam were. She will have an extensive report on Friday for us. She is a good investigator, Lucien. At the level of a detective I would think. Bill will be doing leg work for her here in Melbourne.”

“I have both of your medical charts with me. Let’s look at yours Lucien, first. Your drug levels continue to decrease. Since first tests on Saturday early morning, the levels have decreased 16%. Your EKGs remain normal. Any more cardiac issues to report?” “No, Richard, I have had experienced no more missed beats. I think my thoughts are not jumping around like they were on Saturday and I seem to be remembering more each day. My knee is still hurting and walking with this heavy brace is nearly impossible. So Diane wrapped my leg tonight to make the walking easier. Left the brace in the room. Charlie helped me get here. I hope Gus lets me get into a different brace that weighs less soon. What about skull x-rays?” “We’ll talk about them in the morning when the full reports are back and James and I have had time to discuss them. Do you know that Gus has called in twice tonight to check on you?” “Hope tomorrow morning bears no resemblance at all to this morning, Richard.”

“Do you have Jean’s chart as well, Richard? Let me see it,” Lucien asked. “No, Lucien Blake, you are not my physician at this hospital, are you? I will let Richard, Hugh or James see it, not you,” Jean told him, with a raised eyebrow. Richard looked at Jean and told her, “Jean, only basic medical information is included, as well as medications. Nothing from me. Our conversations are private and confidential.” 

“Jean, I missed that sassy style you have, the raised eyebrow thing that you give me. But I figure the chart will have notes, lab reports, paperwork. And yes, I am your occasional physician, if I remember correctly. Did you forget that? You don’t need to turn stubborn on me. So, I will look it over,” Lucien told both Jean and Richard, using a commanding tone to his voice, like the Colonel he was. 

Richard looked at Jean, as she shrugged her shoulders, glared at Lucien and then said, “Well, he knows most everything already anyway, Richard. Let him see it,” Jean said, realizing she had lost a minor skirmish with Lucien.

“Jean, this all looks fine to me. But, Richard, the neck meds that I asked Hugh to get for Jean are not listed here. Do you know why?” “Lucien, I can tell you the answer to that question. Joseph had the medications refilled on Saturday afternoon for me. When you figured out what drugs you wanted me to take on Sunday morning – Hugh and I let you fight through the fog – and you were successful. Neither one of us would tell you I did not require another script. You figured it out for the most part by yourself. We both thought that was an important step for you to accomplish,” Jean told him. “Jean, you made me think, problem solve, and I know it helped me start to realize that I can recover my memories. But, it is just so bloody damn slow,” Lucien told both Jean and Richard. 

“Richard, what do you think about the twin cardiac episodes we had on Saturday?” Lucien asked. ”There are as many explanations as you have physicians. The bottom line – I do not know. I don’t think there is any consensus about it. But it seems to me you are both stable at this point in time,” Richard told both Jean and Lucien.

“Lucien, return the charts to me and the two of you need to get some sleep. You both need to lie down. It is late. I will ask Diane to help us so Lucien can get back to the room safely.” Once they were in the room, Diane helped Lucien into bed, unwrapped his leg, put the bulky brace back on, and elevated his leg, Richard told him, “I am here for you tonight, Lucien. Hugh will be joining me shortly. Let us know how we can help you.” 

“Richard, I feel so much different than the first two nights, where I scared all of you. I am glad I don’t remember much of it. I think helping find Robert has been very important to my well-being, helping my recovery. I think I will be good tonight, I really do. And I think I understand the morning terrors that have plagued me the last few mornings. I certainly hope so –” “Lucien, do I need to help you sleep?” “Not tonight, Richard. But, absolutely no guarantees about the morning, sorry.” 

“Jean, how can I help you?” Richard asked. “Richard, I am fine. I have the medication for my neck. And I think Diane has my sleeping pill to hand me right now.” 

“What about putting lotion on my back, Jean?” “Yes, let me get the container, and we will get you on your side and I will work on your back for you. By the time Jean had finished applying the lotion, he was asleep. Hugh and Richard rolled him over onto his back, checked the knee alignment, and left the room, to talk about his condition, plan for the next day. Jean kissed Lucien good night and laid down on her bed. 

One day soon, I hope we can be in the same bed, that Lucien is recovered sufficiently that we will not have so many people in and out, interrupting our conversation, our need to be together. But, that day will be soon. Look at the progress he has made in just a few days. I know there will be bumps, maybe craters along the way, but I have help for him and me. We will make it, I know we will.


	19. Couple Time Discovery

Ch 19 Couple Time Discovery

About 6 AM Wednesday morning, Jean was up to use the loo and check on Lucien. She discovered that he was awake, quiet, not screaming, just looking at her, eyes bright and alert, smiling, reached his hand towards her, “Come, Jeannie, be with me.” “I was thinking the same thing.” She crawled into his bed, they got comfortable, he kissed her several times, tears fell from both of them, he let out a huge breath. “Surprised myself this morning. Didn’t act out, did I? You still want me? As gimpy as I am? With what I might have done in the last two years? Do you?” “Yes, you surprised me - no yelling. Got to sleep beyond 5 AM. Do I want you? Isn’t that what we agreed to when we got married? You have my heart, and you have had it for years, you do know that Lucien, right?” “Jean, I do. I remember that very clearly, my love,” as he held her close to his chest, kissed her.

The charge nurse, Diane, knocked on the door, entered the room, and saw the two of them cuddled up next to each other. “Good Morning, Dr. and Mrs. Blake. Everything alright with both of you?” “Yes, it is Diane,” Jean told her. “Diane, I woke up, not frightened, not screaming, like before.“ “Yes, I know that Lucien. Very quiet up here this morning. I was busy with Aaron, repacking his neck in cold compresses, and not in here this morning, but could hear you two talking and knew it was a different day. That is very good. I do need a urine sample for drug level determinations and then, I will put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door. I will let your physicians know you are doing well this morning. It is so nice to see this. Let me know when the two of you want some breakfast.”

The two of them cuddled up, held each other, and Jean asked Lucien, ”Do you remember our first trip to Melbourne? What we did, Lucien?” “Yes I do. I fell asleep the first night and realized in the middle of the night what I had done. But you were in bed with me, your hair everywhere, our legs intertwined, your hands um were well exploring, shall we say. Then when you woke up, you were in the middle of a nightmare. Christopher and Thomas were leaving you and you were all by yourself. But you weren’t alone, were you, my love? I was holding you, taking care of you. Isn’t that right, Jean?” 

“Yes it is. I was in bed with you and you with me, that felt so right to me.” Lucien nodded his head up and down, “Yes, indeed.” “And then what did we do?” “Well, let me think. We, um, me, that’s right, you told me ‘You first’ and you started looking at me, I mean feeling me up, touching me and well, we continued with that for hours, my love. Yes, I remember that. Why do you ask now?” “Well, I think that is what we should do this morning. What about it, my handsome boy?” Lucien broke into a grin from ear to ear, “Jeannie, I just don’t know if well if um I remember um-“ “Lucien, I learned from you, my good friend and lover, what I like and what you like. This morning, let’s begin to figure out what we both want _now_ – it is a new beginning, does that sound good to you?” “On my goodness, yes, let’s begin,” Lucien told her, smothering her mouth in kisses.

About 90 minutes later, James walked up to Lucien’s room with his medical chart and found the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, looked back at Carol, “What is going on, Carol?” “Diane found them in bed together this morning. She told me Dr. Blake’s eyes were just sparkling, Jean’s smile priceless. Gave them some time together,” Carol told him. “Of course, a good idea. The Major is coming back to us,” James said to Carol, while fondly recalling the first day he was in Ballarat with Lucien and Jean. “Diane did get a urine sample first thing this morning,” Carol told him. “Good, that was going to be my next question, thank you.”

Richard walked up and found James talking to Carol. “What is going on?” James raised his eyebrows up and down, smiled. “No. Really? So they took me up on my ‘Couple Time’ order.” James looked at Richard and chuckled as he said, “I thought it was you who wrote that they needed ‘Couple Time.’ Hugh and I were wondering what you meant. Should have known better, Richard.” 

They all heard Lucien tell them, “James, Carol, Richard, come on in. We know you will not leave us alone until you do.” Carol pulled the sign off of the door, James and Richard entered and found Jean getting up from the bed, putting her robe on. Both of them looked relaxed for one of the few times since Saturday. Richard laughed as he said, “Both of you – my goodness –“ Lucien replied, “Following Dr. McCoy’s orders this morning,” with a grin on his face, looking longingly at Jean.

“Lucien, I need some to time to do a check on you. And, I want to follow up on the x-rays from yesterday. From what Richard and Hugh told me, I missed the ‘Gus Show’ starring Aaron and Lucien, yesterday morning,” James told him, before he broke up in laughter. “James, Gus scared both Aaron and me. I have never thought about how bloody intimidating that man can be – and you know, I am not a small man. His hands on my neck worked wonders, but at times I thought he was going to wring my neck – like a chicken,“ Lucien explained, trying to grin.

“I want to do another neurological check, feel your neck and skull, and talk about the new x-rays. You were spot on with the additional damage to your neck. Your vertebrae and skull fractures are nearly healed, as you can see here in the film. The alignment is good. We are wondering if you wore a neck brace or collar or something like that. Do you recall?” James asked. But seeing Lucien’s eyes darting here and there around the room, James quickly realized Lucien did not have an answer for him. “Lucien, just think about James’ question. Maybe in a few days, you will have some insight into it,” Richard told him. “Yes, Richard, give me some time.” 

“Major, one more item to update you about. Hannam is still critically ill. In a coma, not responding to medications. Of course, I will keep you informed. I am wondering if you would want to visit him Thursday morning? Hugh and I would accompany you,” James told him. “Yes, James, I would like to visit him. I had hoped he would be more responsive to treatment. I knew he was getting very ill. I left him and could not figure out where he was and –“ Lucien stated. “Major, you remembered enough information to allow us to find him. Get him help. Do not blame yourself, alright?” James explained.

After completing his examination, James looked at both Jean and Lucien, and told them, “I am amazed at how well you are doing this morning, Major, compared to your arrival at my A&E treatment room. Keep it up, alright?” “Yes, James, um I will try.” 

Jean looked at James and Richard, “All of you have taken such good care of Lucien, given up countless hours to ensure that that – “ as her breath caught, tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, she could not finish the thought. “I, I –“ Richard walked up to Jean, held her and let her cry into his shoulder. “Jean, it is alright, it really is. You know we have talked about you not carrying all of the load, to let us help – that is what we are here for,” Richard told her as he handed her a handkerchief. He walked her towards Lucien and helped her sit on the edge of the bed and Lucien held her, comforted her, kissed her. 

“Jean, Jean, let me hold you for a while. I love you. Thank you so much for believing that I would come back to you.” Jean settled into his arms, closed her eyes and relaxed into his chest, her breathing calmed, and she let out a huge sigh of relief. “My darling boy –“ She went still, and James walked up to her, felt her pulse. “She is fine, Lucien. Just hold her. Over two years of missing you, hoping that you were safe, being strong for you, she is such a remarkable woman. I think you know that. Just care for her – keep getting better for her, love her.” “Thank you James and Richard,” Lucien told them with tears in his eyes. “I do love her, need her. I need to keep telling her, showing her how much she means to me,” Lucien said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

About an hour later, Jean began to stir, realized she was in the clutches of Lucien and he was smiling at her, pushing her hair from back from her face, kissing her. “Lucien, thank you for holding me. I don’t know what happened, I just got so overwhelmed with everything.” “You have every right my love to let it go, you have stayed so strong for me, for so long, I can’t do much yet, but I can hold you, love you, I can do that. I will do that every chance I have, my love.” 

Carol heard the two of them talking and rolled in a cart with two breakfast trays and a pot of tea. “I imagine you are both famished by now. Here you go. If you need anything, let me know.” 

After finishing their breakfast meal, Jean suggested, “Let’s get cleaned up, put on some fresh clothing. Do you want me to help you Lucien?” “Jean, I will need help getting into the shower, but I should be able to do the rest myself. Did they tell you that Joseph took a shower with me on Saturday? Wait, of course you know that. I told you about that days ago. Now, why didn’t I remember that?” he said with a chuckle. 

“Jean, I remember Joseph trying to tell me why he spent all Saturday morning with me, taking care of me. He was nearly crying – and Jean I did not even know who he was. I remember now how special our friendship is – he needed help and by helping him, I helped myself.” “Yes, Lucien, that is right. Joseph is a very special friend to you and me. He needs you back in his life,” Jean told him. “Jean, didn’t he give me a journal to write in and you gave me a special pen to use? Am I remembering that correctly?” “Yes, you most certainly are. I still have the journal at home. Do you want me to ask Alice or Matthew to bring it to you on Friday?” “Please, Jean, I would like to see it. Do you think I can start writing again? Should I start writing?” “Lucien, of course you should write. I will help you and I know Richard and Joseph will support you as well. Now, let’s get you in the shower.”

As Lucien, wearing a towel wrapped around his waist, came out of the shower, Gus Wilson walked in. “Lucien, how is the knee?” “Still swollen, does not hurt as much as earlier,” Lucien told him. “Come sit on the edge of the bed and let me look at it with you.” Lucien got positioned on the bed, gave Gus his crutches, then Gus took the leg in his hands. He put the knee into several positions, and Lucien grimaced but did not say much, until the last position, “Bloody Hell, Gus, what are you doing to me?” “I wanted to hurt you this morning,” he said with a grin. “Well, you did,” Lucien told him as he punched Gus in the arm. “But, Gus, it wasn’t as bad as Saturday, thank goodness.” 

“Your knee is really in pretty good shape, considering where we started a few days ago. I went through about eight different positions and you barely complained. The last one, probably the area you fell on, was the worst position. I am pleased that the repair from decades ago is in good shape even now. So, my plans – continue to stay conservative in our approach, rewrap it for you, hang your leg up in the air until late this afternoon. I will pick out a different brace before I return, write some orders for pain medication for you in the early afternoon so you will not be hitting me again,” he told Lucien with a grin. “Good. What about physical therapy? When can we start that?” Lucien asked. 

Gus smiled at him, “I can’t believe the difference in you from Saturday. Richard told me something good was going on. You are much more alert, you are thinking more clearly, you are second guessing me already. I like that. I think Dr. Blake is on the mend. Yes, PT will start tomorrow. Carol and Diane will work with you. Slow at first, I want to go easy on the knee until Monday. Work on the muscle groups in your leg first. Still on crutches, wear the new brace, keep the knee elevated as much as you can, no cheating. Alright, Lucien?” “Yes, Gus, on crutches for the next few weeks. Just as long as my knee is in a lighter brace, not hung up like a piece of meat,” Lucien told him.

“Lucien, let me help you get some shorts on, get you into bed, let me put the brace back on your knee and attach it to the apparatus for the last time.” Lucien got settled into bed, told Gus, “Thank you very much Gus. One more thing – Gus, I know you, I do. I am still trying to figure it out. Don’t give me any hints. I need to do this myself.”

“And Blake, I saw the new x-rays of your skull and compared them to Aaron’s films. Let’s talk about that a bit. You were right about additional damage. You have healed non-displaced fractures of C1 and C2 cervical vertebrae. Did Hannam put your neck in a brace, or something similar? Did you tell him to stabilize your neck?” “Gus, I don’t know, don’t remember. I don’t think there was anything like that in my gear or in Hannam’s. James and Richard asked me the same thing earlier today. I am incredibly lucky aren’t I?” “Yes, my friend you are indeed,” Gus told him.

“Now let me share a bit about Aaron’s films. No fractures like you have. But he has increased deep bruising today. I think he may have moved slightly before the attack. Our Mystery Man missed his aim. Whereas you were asleep and he really lined up on your neck and skull and then whacked you,” Gus told Lucien. 

“Can I feel your neck and skull today? I know that James and Richard did a neurological evaluation of you this morning. I want to compare how your neck felt yesterday at the height of the terror and now,” Richard asked. “Yes, I will let you, but please Gus be gentle,” Lucien pleaded with him. Gus began feeling Lucien’s skull, neck and moved his head slightly one way and then another. “Lucien, try and relax. I am not going to wring your neck, I am not.” “But Gus your hands are so large you could easily –“ “I am not about to hurt you, I am not. Now, after feeling your neck, I have a suggestion for you. Let’s continue to put hot and cold on your neck several times a day. You do not have much mobility in your neck now, and it could be because of the injury. I will talk with Richard about adding your upper back and neck to the PT routine I will order for your leg and knee,” Gus told him. 

When Jean came out of the shower, she found Lucien and Gus still talking about how they knew each other. “Jean, Jean, I just remembered that Gus worked with several of our patients – all POW participants. You all must think I am a dope at times when I just stare at you without recognizing you. This is so bloody maddening,” Lucien told her. 

“Lucien, how long have you been in hospital?” “About five days, Gus.” “How long were you away?” “Little Blake tells me two years or so.” “So, why do you think you can recover two years in just five days?” Gus asked him, almost like Richard would. “Well, you and Richard have been telling tales on me, haven’t you?” Lucien asked him. “Yes, we have, my friend,” Gus told him as he put his hand on his shoulder. 

“I will see you both later this afternoon. Jean, I will be changing the brace on Lucien’s knee. Now, do you need anything from me?” “No, Gus, I am fine. Thank you for the good news about Lucien’s knee,” Jean told him as he gave her a hug. “Oh, Gus, I want you to know about Blake’s birthday party Sunday afternoon about 2 o’clock, here in the room down the hall. We had a surprise party planned for him last Sunday, but he ‘who shall not be named’ showed up and well, the rest is history. Blake knows about this party,” Jean told Gus, smiling at him, knowing that he would come. “Of course, I will be here. Your little name sake, Lucien, is a cute kid, not afraid of me in the least. Not like you are! Got to go. See you both this afternoon.”

“Jean, I have noticed how all of the fellows give you a hug, a kiss on the cheek, nobody misses that chance, do they?” “Lucien, are you jealous? How did I cope with the last two years? I had a lot of help from Alice, Matthew, Rose and everyone in the Grant Team and the Group Session folks. And yes, they have gotten in the habit of asking me how I am, hugging me, trying not to let me get stubborn, not letting me refuse help, and I appreciate every one of them. I could not have made it without all of them. We have an enormous support network.” “Jean, come here, let me hold you. I am so glad you want to be with me, waited for me, believed in me. Can I kiss you, not on the cheek, but really kiss you?” Lucien asked her. “Of course, my darling boy.” Jean looked at Lucien, and smiled, “You are feeling pretty spry today, aren’t you?” “I am, Jean, I am. I love you.”

“Do you need lotion on your back, Lucien? We can take your knee down for a while and I will work on your back.” “Yes, please do.” “Lucien, I think it is getting better. Not as dry, no cracking, but it is still taking a large amount of lotion each time. My hands are getting very soft again. I will have to ask James for another jar of your special lotion.” As Jean finished, she kissed his bum several times and he chuckled. “You never miss that opportunity do you?” “Lucien, of course I don’t. I like to kiss your naked bum, have for years. Right?” “Jean, I do remember that very clearly.” 

“Jean, Jean, um well I just remembered something – your leg, the scar, and the cream we got from the Oriental Medicine shop. I’m sorry I did not ask you about it earlier. How is it?” “Lucien, I have continued using the cream, doing the exercises you suggested, but um well“ “What Jean? Has it tightened up some more?” “Yes, Lucien, it has, and there are days my leg is quite sore. Do you feel well enough to look at it?” “Yes, I do. So, put yourself right here, and I will sit on the edge of the bed and examine it. Bring your cream too so I can apply it.”

Once Jean was on the bed, Lucien began to feel the scar, move her leg, and she groaned, yelped at times, and then yelled, “Lucien, stop it.” Carol entered the room and saw the two of them on the bed. “Do you need anything, Mrs. Blake?” “No, I am alright, just barking at Lucien about my leg.” “Carol, can you hand me Jean’s cream? I need to work on her scar and she is going to get vocal with me. I am not deliberately hurting her, despite what she tells you.” 

Carol gave Lucien the cream and then held Jean’s hand. “Here, squeeze my hand when you need to. The scar looks old Jean. I imagine it is getting harder to move your leg in certain directions. I hope Dr. Blake has an approach that works. Many of our burn patients could certainly use a new approach to their mobility problems,“ Carol told Jean.

“Jean, I think we need a different cream and I need to get back to helping you with your stretches. Carol, I need a script pad, the number of the Oriental Medicine shop near here, and I need to think about the composition of the cream. I will call them this morning and see if they can compound it for you.” In a few minutes, Carol was back in the room with the phone number, Lucien was still working with Jean’s leg, and she was telling him that was enough, more than enough work on her leg. “Thank you Lucien, please stop now.” “Yes, I am stopping for now, but we need to get serious about it, Jean.”

After Carol called the number of the Oriental Medicine shop, she handed the telephone to Lucien. He asked to talk to Xing ‘Paul’ Wong. He slipped into Cantonese very quickly and Carol just looked at him. He had what Lucien required, and told him they could have it delivered in the afternoon. “Carol, where can they deliver it?” She got on the telephone and told them. “Here, Lucien, they want to talk to you again.” Lucien took the phone and the conversation turned to his ear infection. He told them that the infection was still ongoing and asked if there were other ideas for him. “Yes, there are, we will bring a couple other formulations for you as well. I will see you this afternoon, Lucien. And, Lucien, we _must_ talk this afternoon,” Paul told him. “Um yes, that will be fine, Paul,” Lucien told him, wondering what was going on.

“Lucien, how did you know the owner’s name was Paul?” “Well, Jean, um I just did. Danny and Charlie told me I was there twice since I have been in Melbourne this time. Paul seemed to know me, remember me, understand what I needed. I will ask him this afternoon about um you know more – Jean it was so easy in Cantonese to remember, harder in English,” Lucien told them. Carol said she would add his name to the list for the security detail – “Lucien, what is the full name?” “It is Paul um Wong, I think. I will recognize him.”

Hugh dropped by to check on Jean and Lucien and found Lucien reading the paper and Jean sitting in the easy chair, rubbing her leg. “Everyone alright this morning?” Hugh asked. “Hugh, I need something for my leg. Lucien worked on my burn scar and I am still feeling it,” Jean told him very quickly. “I heard from Carol about your leg hurting. Can I feel your leg, see what damage he did? Afterwards, I will get you some pain medication. Lucien, don’t hurt her, alright?” “Hugh, her scar is progressing in a way I am concerned about. Medications from the Oriental Medicine shop will be delivered this afternoon for her scar as well as new ones for my ears," Lucien told him. “Gus tells me you get a new brace this afternoon from him.” “Yes, I do. Hugh, will you clean my ears again?” “Yes, Lucien, I will right now. Let’s hope the new drops do the trick. Your ear infection is proving to be a pesky one.”

Lucien was lying in bed, studying the book that Bill Hobart had discovered in Hannam’s gear. All of the numbers from the tablets, in some type of chart, what did it all mean? Was this some type of code? Or the schedule of when and how much to give to me? It just made no sense, yet. Lucien was scribbling down ideas when Jean told him she was going to take a walk, stretch out her leg. She went to the room where Bill had been working the day before but he was not there. Walking up to the nurse’s station, she asked Carol , “Do you know where Bill is?” Carol shook her head no. “Perhaps he is working at the library today.” “What about Danny and Charlie?” Jean asked. “Don’t know. Sorry.” 

Jean then asked, “Carol, I need to call Matthew. It is important. Which telephone can I use?” Carol set Jean up on the secure line to Matthew. After the second ring, the familiar gruff telephone voice of Matthew was on the line, “Lawson here. How can I help you?” “Matthew, it is me. I have discovered something, I think and um Bill is not here right now. Neither are Danny or Charlie. Can I explain it to you?” “Yes, Jean. Tell me. Let me get a pen and paper to take notes. Alright, begin.” “Lucien and I were in bed this morning, – Jean heard Matthew chuckle – yes Matthew, we were, and it was quite lovely, but getting back to why I called, um I was looking at him, kissing his chest, well his upper right chest where he has the healed bullet wound. Um, he could not tell me when it happened, how it happened, who did it to him.” 

“Well, Jean maybe he just can’t remember it yet. Is that a possibility?” Matthew asked. “Matthew, he has two other wounds on his chest, knew perfectly well what happen to cause them. This one – not an idea in the world.” “And where are you taking this Jean?” “He told me years ago it happened in Macau, after the war and before he came to Ballarat. Victor Gennardy shot him, Lucien shot back and well, Lucien killed him. Lucien left him lying there, dead, in the dirt. Lucien escaped. So why can’t he remember that episode now? I am wondering if it could have anything to do with the Mystery Man? Could this person be a friend, relative, former colleague, what? to this Victor guy? Getting revenge on Lucien? The Mystery Man has several aliases, right? Will you look into this for me?” 

“Jean, yes I will look into it and I will let Bill, Charlie, and Danny know about your idea. We need to press forward on this man’s true identity. Now, don’t push Lucien on this alright? If he tells you more, let me know. But Jean, it ties to what Bill and I found on Sunday. Good work, really good work.” “Matthew, thank you. And I miss you and Alice so much. It will be good to see you both on Friday. Tell Alice I am doing alright. Hugh and James are taking care of me.” “One more thing Jean, how does Hannam fit into your Mystery Man scenario?” Matthew asked. “Don’t know yet, Matthew.”

Shortly after Lucien and Jean had eaten lunch, there was a commotion in the hallway. Jean thought she heard Rose Anderson’s voice and walked outside to see if she was correct. “Oh my goodness, look who is here! What a nice surprise.” Rose and three of the ladies from the Thursday afternoon Women’s Group Session were there. Allie, Kate and Ella walked up to Jean, hugged her, gave her a package from all of the Group members as well as a box of homemade biscuits for Lucien. “We baked biscuits for Lucien. Can he have these yet?” Allie asked. “Yes, they will not last the afternoon, if I know him. I will give them to him,” Jean told them.

The charge nurse, Carol walked up to the group and said, “We have a room just down the hall that you can use this afternoon. Let me show you. I will put the tea kettle on as well.” Rose looked at Jean, smiled and told her, “I will stay with Lucien this afternoon while you have a much deserved break.” “Rose, let me walk in with you and be certain he knows who you are.” 

When they walked into the room, Lucien looked at Rose, smiled and said, “Rose Anderson, as I live and breathe, this afternoon is all ‘off of the record,’ correct?” “Yes, it is Lucien. I just want to keep you company. Is that alright?” “Of course it is. Jean, I will be fine. Where are my biscuits? Enjoy the afternoon, will you?” 

“Uncle Matthew and Alice have kept me updated on your condition, Lucien. Your knee is still so swollen. Is it painful?” Rose asked Lucien. “Rose, it is hard to move it with the big brace that I have to wear but the pain is not like it was on Saturday. My back is still tender but Jean is putting lots of lotion on it and I feel a difference already. I made a trip to the dentist on let’s see, Monday, yes that is right, and the tooth that was bothering me is fixed. But, I am still really fuzzy about what happened to me. Head still hurts, neck is sore. Can you tell me something, anything – about what happened to me?” 

“Lucien, I talked to Richard yesterday when he was in Ballarat. I asked him if I could fill in some information I had. He told me I could, but I needed to do it in person. And one of the Melbourne Four needed to be in the room,” Rose told him. “The Melbourne Four? Wait, let me think about this – James, Hugh, Richard, and um um yes, Joseph. Right? Have you told them you are here, Rose?” Lucien asked her. “Yes, I did. So I can’t tell you much about that until one of them comes in. Sorry, Lucien.” 

Rose continued, “But I can tell you I live in the Blake house now, enjoy being with my Uncle Matthew, Alice and Jean. We are continuing the Blake Household tradition of a family – we help each other, every day, to make life easier for all of us. We divide up the light housework, Jean is teaching me to cook, and Lucien, you know, well, you won’t believe this, most of what I fix tastes pretty good. Even Uncle Matthew will eat it. But, Alice is not so certain about me cooking. She is afraid if I can learn to cook, so can she. I would never have predicted that Jean could even make inroads with her as well. Alice can warm up food in the oven now,” Rose said with a chuckle.

“Jean has let me have some space in the sunroom for my flowers. The sunroom looks so lovely right now. I should take some pictures of it and bring you some prints so you will see how Jean’s flowers are blooming. Of course, many, many begonias are there. Jean has the touch with them. Also, I am the lead investigative reporter for the _Courier_ , and have had several articles published, not only in Ballarat but also country wide,” Rose told him. Lucien had a smile on his face, was watching her intently. “Rose, thank you for coming, bringing the ladies, and giving Jean some time away from me. I have occupied almost all of her time since Saturday and she needs to be able to have time to herself,” Lucien told her.

After a couple hours of wide ranging conversation, Rose said to Lucien, “But in a more practical vein, I want to take a list of what you and Jean need back with me to Ballarat. We will all be here on Friday, so we can bring whatever you need. Alice will be here for the Grant Meeting and Matthew and I will be talking to Bill, Danny and Charlie. Before I leave, we will talk with Jean about what you need,” Rose told him. “Yes, Rose, Jean needs to help me on what clothing is here and what to bring. And I am certain she will want some items from the house as well,” Lucien responded. “Excellent idea, Rose. Thank you.”


	20. More Clues

Ch 20 More Clues 

After Jean left Rose to sit with Lucien for part of the afternoon, she joined Allie, Kate and Ella. An afternoon of chatting was an unexpected pleasure for Jean. “Jean, it is so good to see you and have a chance to talk. Cliff saw the caravan of police cruisers race out of town on Saturday morning, saw you in the car with Matthew and Alice, and had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Do you know Matthew called me for food on Tuesday afternoon when Richard was in town for appointments and Group Session? We were all glad to cook for everyone. Also, this Friday is the day to straighten up the house and do some laundry for you. That is on our schedule as well,” Allie told Jean. 

“When Matthew called on Saturday, I knew it was a possibility that the person could be Lucien, but truthfully, I just could not imagine if would be him. First telephone call – and it was him – what were the odds? But James would be the one to recognize Lucien if anyone could. Alice told me to pack clothing for him, and um if it wasn’t Lucien, we could all come back Saturday afternoon,” Jean explained. With a smile, Jean said, “But we didn’t come back, did we?”

“He has serious memory lapses that are not all that obvious unless you watch his eyes. When he is totally at a loss, his eyes dart around the room, up and down. It seems to me that he is trying so hard to figure something out, but just not able to. I will introduce you to him before you leave. We will see if he remembers any of you,” as Jean wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. 

“I think we should tell Jean about the new Blake house project, don’t you Allie?” Ella asked. “Yes, since it is in the bathroom in their bedroom, she should know,” Allie answered, smiling. “What are the fellows doing now?” Jean asked. “Jean, Richard asked Cliff to re-model your bathroom and put in a walk-in shower for Lucien. Arnie and Vincent are going to help him. We will keep you in the loop of how they are going to accomplish this task. Richard said the deadline is Christmas. So, Jean, we think you both will be back by then,” Kate explained the plan to Jean. “Oh my, um, that would be so wonderful. But the tree, gifts, dinner,” Jean said with her mind racing. “And Jean Blake, you leave all of that to us. We will get things organized and help you,” Allie said, smiling and giving Jean a hug. “Jean, your job is to keep Lucien on track so that Christmas of 1964 will be at home in Ballarat, with the extended Blake family,” Allie told her. “Let’s drink some tea. I need to open my gift from you. Is it something we can share?” Jean asked. “Of course, Jean, it is your favorite treat. Enough for all of us,” Kate explained.

About 2:30 PM, James and Carol walked into Lucien’s room and set up the IV, added some pain medication. “Gus and I will be back in a couple hours to work on your knee. I don’t want you to be anxious about this procedure or in pain after we finish. We need to change the angle on the knee, put on a new, lighter weight brace. If you fall asleep, that is fine. Should we go get Jean to stay with you?” James asked. “No, Rose will stay with me, talk to me, read me the paper. I will be alright, James. I am not so anxious like earlier in the week.” 

“Oh, Rose,” James said, “I know you have information you could share with Lucien, but let’s wait until you are back on Friday. With the medication he is on now, I think that will make more sense, adding in Bill, Danny and Charlie’s details as well should complement what you have.” 

“James, I have the x-ray films of Aaron and Lucien’s skull fractures. Richard left them with Alice yesterday for her to study. Alice worked with them last evening and this morning and wrote up her analysis. Could you make certain Richard gets this packet? Should we add this to the Friday meeting or is it strictly medical chart information?” Rose asked. “I think it is both, Rose. I will have a copy added to Aaron’s and Lucien’s record and then we can give this to Bill to put in the file for the Friday afternoon meeting,” James told her. “Safe trip back to Ballarat. See you on Friday, Rose,” James told her as he walked out of the room.

Jean walked back to the room to check on Lucien. “Lucien, can Allie, Kate and Ella come into the room and say hello?” Jean asked him. “Yes, they most certainly can, Jean.” They walked into the room, smiled at Lucien and said their greetings. Much to their surprise, Lucien asked each of them what their names. “Dr. Blake, I am Ella.” “Yes, and um you are married to um well, voice is so familiar, but just no name, not yet. Sorry Ella. Don’t tell me, I need some more time.” 

“I am Kate, Dr. Blake.” “Yes, Kate, you are um wait, you are married to one of my patients, let’s see, that would be um yes Arnie, right?” “Yes it is. We live out in the country and Joseph and Mattie got Arnie to come to the first Group Session you did,” Kate responded, smiling at him. “Of course.” 

“And Ella, you are married to Vincent, just remembered that, I did. I remembered it myself. Needed to do that. Not be told. How is Vincent?” “Dr. B he is fine. I think the three of them are coming on Saturday afternoon to visit you.” “Yes they are. Richard asked me about their visit. Will be good to see them and talk. Get connected back to home.”

“And you are Allie, married to Cliff, who attended the first Group Session as well. Cliff lives out in the country, has helped me with some repairs at Jean’s Place, before I um disappeared, left, um whatever happened to me. You started the Group Session with Jean and Mattie, right?” “Yes that is right. Rose helps us on Thursday afternoons now with our Group.” “Of course, Mattie lives in Melbourne with Joseph now. Did you know they are married? Have two children? Well, of course you would. Trying to show off and stumbled into um whatever. Pain medication is making me a bit goofy, I think. Glad you all came in to chat a bit,” Lucien told all of them.

“We can tell the fellows how to get to the hospital from the depot and how to find your room. It is so good to see you and Jean together, again, finally,” Allie told Lucien. “Yes, it is good, more than that – it is well um amazing that Jean wants to be with me.”

Rose asked Jean to think about what she needed from home. “We will bring whatever you and Lucien want on Friday. We need to leave about 3 PM for the depot so we can all get back to Ballarat.” Jean sat down on the edge of Lucien’s bed and asked, “Can you think of anything you would like from home?” “Um Jean, um my journal.” “Rose, it is in our bedroom, in the night stand on the left side as you enter the room, bottom shelf. There is a pen with it.” 

“I can’t remember much about my clothes, I think I wore three piece suits most of the time and I don’t want to wear them here. Maybe more sleeping shorts, dressing gowns, regular shorts and shirts?” Lucien suggested. “Rose, look in the dresser, bottom drawer for sleeping shorts, underwear and socks, the dressing gowns and shirts are hanging in the closet on the left. Regular shorts and swim trunks are in the closet, top shelf.” 

“Jean, you did not get rid of my clothing, did you?” “Absolutely not, Lucien. I knew you would be home one day,” Jean told him and then kissed him. “Thank you for believing I would not leave you, that I would be back to you,” Lucien told her, reaching out for her hands to hold. 

“Rose, I will talk with Alice about what I need. Should think about it a little bit more. You know about Blake’s party coming up, right?” Jean asked her. “Yes. Matthew, Alice and I are planning on staying until Sunday afternoon,” Rose told Jean.

“Are any of you cooking, Rose?” “Of course not Jean, we are living out of the freezer, your left overs are fine. As you know, the Group Session ladies fed all of us last night. Big pot of soup, which we promptly devoured. I have watered your plants once since you left on Saturday. Is that enough?” “Rose, twice a week is enough for the plants, don’t be too generous with the water, drain the saucers so they do not sit in water.” “Lucien and Jean, I also brought the mail for you two, as well as well as the Ballarat _Courier_ newspapers that you have missed. Alice wants to know if you have enough money? She could get some from the bank and bring it on Friday as well.” “No need for money at this point. Thanks for the mail and papers.” 

Rose ushered Kate, Ella and Allie on their way and told Jean, “Any more items to bring, let Joseph know. He is coming on Thursday. See you both Friday morning. Lucien, we all agreed that no gossip, no stories from the four of us. I do get the exclusive when it is time, correct?” “Good bye, Rose, ever the reporter, aren’t you?” Lucien said with a smile. “Um Jean, we will need to put Arnie, Cliff, and Vincent’s names on the list of visitors for Saturday,” Lucien told Jean.

As the Ballarat visitors exited the POW suite, Paul, Danny and Charlie walked up. Danny took the lead, “This is Paul from the Oriental Medicine Shop. His name is on the list. He has medications for the Blakes. Jean and Lucien are expecting us.” 

As the three walked into his room, Lucien recognized Paul immediately. “Yes, Paul, thank you for bringing the lotion for Jean and new ear drops for me. But why are Danny and Charlie with you?” “Lucien, I called them this morning after I talked with you. Um, I have more than just the medications to deliver to you. And, quite frankly, I was afraid to walk over here by myself,” Paul told Lucien and Jean. “And Lady Jean, it is so good to see you again. Sorry about your leg bothering you again. I hope this helps you.” “Paul, it is good to see you. Thank you for helping me and Lucien.” 

Lucien asked, scratching his head, “Ah, Paul, I don’t understand. Why are you afraid? What happened? Did I do something wrong when I was in your shop?” Paul began, “Let me try to tell you what happened, Lucien. It is a long story. Don’t want to leave anything out. You came to our shop on the 23rd of November, a Monday, about two weeks ago. Slouch hat guy was with you, feverish and you had the ear infection. You bought what you needed. Used the bank across the street to get some money. You looked stressed, confused, like you did not feel well, but the other guy stayed so close to you I could not ask you if you were alright, needed my help. I was pretty certain it was you – despite your long beard and hair, dirty clothes. Your very blue eyes – that is how I recognized you. I had two other customers and by the time they left, I could not see what direction the two of you walked away. I looked up and down the sidewalks, just did not see you two.”

I did not see you again until a week later, on the 30th of November, the next Monday, you came back by yourself, limping a bit, no slouch hat guy with you. You asked for more malaria medication, no ear drops, and then you handed me three things from your ruck sack: a key to a box at the bank across the street, a small, pocket-sized notebook, and a passport. Told me to hide them, protect them, give them to no one but you. I told you I would put them in our safe which I did. I asked if you were alright, needed help, wanted me to call the Police, take you to hospital, call Lady Jean – and Lucien, you had the strangest look on your face, eyes darting here and there. It was like you did not understand what I was asking you. You stared at me and then you just told me ‘I don’t know’ and started to walk out of the door. I stopped you and you brushed me off. Told me to ‘Leave you alone. I am fine.’ That was the last time I saw you.”

“After your visit I saw a man lurking around the bank and watching my building. He did that all week. You know, I think he may be the same person, at least he looked similar to me, to the man in the passport you gave me. But haven’t seen him since Friday December 4. Don’t know what happened to him. Have not seen the slouch hat guy either.”

“Then on Monday, just two days ago, a physician from here, named let me see, I wrote it down, yes, said his name was Hugh, Hugh Alexander, brought in the nearly empty bottle of your ear drops and asked about them, about you. He had a translator from the police department with him in case I was not there. Also that day Detectives Danny and Charlie dropped by. Also saw them go into the bank. I didn’t tell any of them about what happened earlier. Did not know who to trust. But Danny left his card. So when you called this morning and I knew you were alive, where you were, that you were safe, I um took a chance and called Danny. Told them to come in the back way to our shop. Didn’t know if the other guy was still watching my shop and the bank or not. Charlie and Danny came after lunch and talked with me. Finally convinced me they would help me and to let them see what you gave me,” Paul finished, talking a bit faster as his story spilled out of him. “They put me in their car for the ride here. I have not been to the bank to see what the key is all about. Is there a safe place here for the three items you gave me for safe keeping?” “Yes, there is a safe on this floor. We have other paperwork stored there already,” Jean told him.

Once the information had spilled out of Paul, he smiled, looked at Lucien and said, “So good to see you, that you are safe, getting help. You look so much better than last week. And of course, to see Lady Jean, yes, that is excellent as well. Charlie and Danny are taking me back to the shop now. We will have police protection until all of this gets sorted. Now that I know where you are, I will visit some evening. Need to go.” Paul shook Lucien’s hand and gave Jean a hug as he exited the room. “Jean, I don’t remember any of that happening, I just don’t.” “I took notes on what Paul said. We need to talk to Richard about this. I am certain Danny will tell Matthew and Bill.” 

As promised, James and Gus walked into the room about 4:30 PM with a different knee brace, greeted Lucien and Jean, and began to unhook Lucien’s leg from the contraption that kept it elevated. The entire devise was removed from the bed, much to Lucien’s delight. “The monster is gone? Really? Yes!” “That is my plan, Lucien. You have made excellent progress and I want to get you more mobile and that demands a different type of knee support,” Gus told him. “Major, to get this new brace on, we are going to have to move your knee and leg into a different angle, and it will hurt. If it is too much, let us know. I can give you some additional medication,” James explained to him. Jean kept Lucien focused on her, held his hands, talked to him as the work was completed. 

Once Gus and James were finished, they asked, “Well, what do you think? Did we hurt you?” “No, nothing like the pain on Saturday. I think you gave me enough medication before you started to cover it.” “Now, Major, you are still on crutches, no weight on that leg. We start you on therapy tomorrow and see how you and your knee handle it,” James explained to Lucien. “Thank you both. I will be able to walk much easier now, not so much brace to lug around with me.”

Carol delivered several dinner trays to the room. Not only did Aaron and Bill join Jean and Lucien, but Danny and Charlie did as well. A wide ranging conversation developed initially centered around Aaron. Lucien began by asking, “Aaron, tell me how your head and neck are doing today. I assume your head still hurts.” “Of course, it does. Bruise on my neck keeps getting somewhat wider, very colorful. Richard tells me my neurological testing is still abnormal. Lots of rest, no reading, no wireless, dark glasses, and getting bored. But at least here, I have people to look after me, help me, you folks to share meals with. Better than at home by myself, that’s for certain.” Jean asked, “Still using hot and cold packs on your neck and head?” “Yes, Carol and Diane have me on a schedule, day and night. And, I have yet another physician checking on me – Gus Wilson. Can you believe that? He just shows up once a day, my chart in hand, checks any new x-ray films that were ordered, chats awhile and leaves. I think he is still trying to apologize for the tears he triggered from me Tuesday morning,” Aaron told them.

“Bill, have you been at the library today?” Lucien asked. “Yes, Doc, Rose has a list of articles, time frames, countries, all based on your passports. I am seeing what I can find, and then branching off as needed. Looking for photos as well. We are going to have a session Friday morning before the main investigative afternoon meeting. I will be here tonight if you, Jean or Aaron need anything,” Bill explained. 

After Danny, Charlie, and Bill finished eating, they asked Diane to let them into a room with the telephone and they called Matthew on the secure number. “Boss, this is Danny. Got some time to chat. You will need to take notes. Paul from the Oriental Medicine Shop brought Lucien and Jean some medications this afternoon. It seems on the 30tth of November, Lucien got more malaria medicine for Hannam and then gave Paul three items from his ruck sack – a key to a bank box, a small notebook and a passport. Told him to put them in the safe and not to give them to anyone but Lucien. They are in the safe up here. We are going to look into the notebook and passport before letting Lucien work with them.”

Charlie took over, “Now the passport – we want to compare the photograph to our mystery man, check names and aliases, fingerprints of our intruder. See where that takes us. Paul seems to think the photo and the man casing the shop might be the same. The small notebook will take some time and Bill is going to work with it tomorrow morning. Seems like some of it is in code. Maybe Lucien or Jean can help us with it. The bank box may prove to be a problem. Someone is lurking around the bank and the shop since the 30 th, watching the comings and goings. We need to devise a plan to get into the bank and open the box. We are thinking that there may be a contact working in the bank who will alert others to what we are doing. Can you think about that and talk with us Friday morning when you are here?” 

“Well, who would have thought Blake would be able to figure out what to do with those items. I thought he was still on the drug cocktail and unable to think straight then,” Matthew told them. “Boss, the week before on the 23rd he was in the shop and Hannam would not let him out of his sight. On the 30th, Paul said he was still having trouble with his thinking, eyes darting here and there, but did hand the items to him. Maybe he was beginning to come off of the drugs then and not later in the week like we initially thought,” Danny said. “I will update the board with these new developments and shift the time he got off of the drugs back a bit. Also, will tell either James, Hugh or Richard about the drug timing. One of them is likely to be up here this evening,” Bill said.

“Good work, all of you. I will think about a plan for the bank box and have some ideas for us on Friday morning. See all of you then. And tell Jean and Lucien hello from Alice and me,” Matthew said. 

While Lucien was walking laps in the hallway with Charlie, James knocked on the door and walked in. “Good evening, Jean. Thought this might be a good time to check on you. Is it?” “Yes, James it is, but I am doing fine.” “Really? I know this morning you were ready to box Lucien’s ears – I heard he hurt your leg. Is that right?” “Yes, I can’t get away with anything here, can I?” “No, you will not be allowed that option. Walk with me and we will collect Diane and have her help us.” 

They walked to the Nurse’s Station and Diane joined them. She had the room ready for Jean, helped her onto the table, and started working on the orders that James had for Jean. James came in and looked at the EKG tracing, listened to her chest, while Diane collected other data. “So, James, I am doing fine, don’t you agree?” “Yes, I do at this point. Now let me see your leg.” “James, I don’t think so. It is so sore and it hurts. The medication that Hugh got for me this morning is wearing off. Can you give me something now?” “Well, only if I can examine it first. You know my drill, no drugs without me examining you. And no arguing with me, right?” “Oh, James, alright, you can examine my leg, but I will probably yell at you like I did at Lucien this morning.” James held her leg, moved it slightly, and she grimaced. “I want to check the scar now.” Jean tensed up, her lower lip quivering. 

“Jean, Diane has gone to get some medication. You have a couple of muscles that are really tight and that is one of the reasons you are feeling so much pain now. The medication should help you.” “Thank you James. I wasn’t fine at all. Just my stubborn streak – again.” “Agreed. I don’t like to see it rear its ugly head, Jean. That is twice this week. Doesn’t do you any good, you know that. And I don’t like to be on the receiving end of it. Nor the one to try and defuse you. You can be quite the sassy lady, at least in my experience. But you already are aware of that, right?” James asked her.

“Now, I will talk with Lucien about your leg and get him to back off the stretches for a day or so. But, you need to get back on them or you will not have the mobility in that leg, agreed?“ “Yes, James, you are right. I know that.”

Jean walked back to the room and found Lucien sitting in the easy chair, knee propped up on pillows. Charlie was getting them both some tea. Jean sat down nearby. Joseph dropped by to chat with both Jean and Lucien. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be home with Mattie and the kids,” Jean asked him. “Jean, I delivered red headed twin boys late this afternoon. Cute as can be, everyone doing fine, well, the father nearly passed out when I told him he two for the price of one,“ Joseph said, with a boyish grin on his face. “I wanted to check on the two of you before I went home.”

“Joseph, you told me that you worked with an alternate medicine practitioner in Melbourne, right?” “Yes, Major, I did.” “But, but you did not identify the person. I have figured out who the person is.” “Oh really, and just who is it Major?” “Me.” “And why would you possibly think that? You do not live in Melbourne.” “I, I, um, you are testing me Joseph. You are all taking Richard’s approach with me. Because I _remembered_ it this morning when I was working on Jean’s leg. I remembered it. I remember things almost sideways, don’t I? I worked with you when Jean and I were in Melbourne for grant meetings. Right?” “You are right, my friend, you are my teacher. And, here is another question for you – who is willing to be our ‘guinea pig’?” “Um, well, let me think about that. So, um, ah, well, I know this too, I do – we had to practice on someone, who knew us, knew what I was trying to teach you – it has to be – Jean. Who else would let the two of us use her neck as a teaching tool?” Jean smiled at Lucien and said, “Lucien, you are right. Now, you two, what about practicing on my leg tonight? It is really sore. James tells me I have tight muscles from you – Lucien Blake – stretching it too much this morning. Maybe you can help them release? But if you hurt me, I am going to be very upset at the both of you,” Jean told them, raising an eyebrow at the both of them. “Got some time Joseph?” “Yes, Major I have missed talking shop with you. We spent so much time doing this before you left. Jean, thank you for letting us help you. I will not let the Major get carried away, I promise you I won’t.” 

Jean slipped off her slacks, laid on Lucien’s bed, Joseph got a towel from the shower and Lucien positioned himself on the edge of the bed. Before they started James came into the room to talk with Lucien about Jean’s leg. “Well, I think this is a teaching session and I just invited myself to watch, maybe participate. Is that alright, Major?” “Yes, James, it is. I remember working with Joseph and you and Hugh. I do. I, um I –“ Lucien paused, swallowed slowly, wiped some tears from his eyes. 

James reached out to Lucien, put a hand on his shoulder and told him, “Major, it is alright to be emotional about this. We have been waiting for you to come back to us, in so many different ways. You are our teacher, our mentor, our Major, our leader. Thank you for fighting your way back. Richard has talked to me many times this week about how you _would_ fight back, not to doubt you. You would be back. It has been so hard waiting for it to happen.” James hugged Lucien, and he began to tear up as well. “Thank you, Major. I have missed your friendship and your counsel,” James told him.

Lucien shook his head, still trying to believe where he was a week ago, where he is now, so thankful that James recognized him and got Joseph, Hugh and Richard involved in helping him begin his recovery, called Matthew and Alice who accompanied Jean to his bedside. “And I have missed, I have missed – um if you did not recognize me, help me, where on earth would I be? Still on the streets?” Lucien asked, shaking his head, reaching for Jean’s hand to hold, to kiss.

The group of friends began working on Jean’s leg, with Lucien in the lead, showing both Joseph and James how to encourage the muscles to relax. Jean very quickly relaxed under Lucien’s care and thanked all of them for helping her. Lucien agreed to be more careful with her leg in the next few days and Jean told them all, she knew the stretches were important and necessary, despite the fact she would undoubtedly complain, loudly.

After Lucien was in bed, Jean asked, “Lotion on your back tonight?” “Of course, my love.” As she applied it, Lucien told her he hoped the lotion helped with her scar, and Jean added, as well as the drops for your ears. Jean, “I still do not remember what I gave Paul. I have been thinking about it all evening. And now I think those items may prove important. But I am happy that the ladies came this afternoon, visited with us, and that I recalled them. Gives me hope that I will remember the guys on Saturday afternoon. Really getting tired, Jean. Good night, my love.” “Yes Lucien, Good Night, my handsome boy. I love you,” Jean told him, as she kissed him.


	21. Getting Organized

Ch 21 Getting Organized

Lucien Blake awakened on Thursday morning, early once again, didn’t know what time, but it was light outside. He knew something was different, his knee was not cold, not hung in the air in that nasty Gus apparatus like other mornings, knew he had done something wrong during the night. I can’t remember. Thinking to himself, did I take my knee down? Did Jean or maybe Diane do it? I must have really made a mistake. And once Gus finds out, he will be so upset with me. “Bloody Hell” were the first two words out of Lucien’s mouth, not to himself, but once again, loud, animated, frightened. 

Jean and Diane were at his side very quickly and Aaron joined them within minutes. Diane and Jean were talking to him, trying to unpack what triggered this morning episode. “I, I, um, my knee, it isn’t in the air, it isn’t in the big brace, did I mess up last night, take it down? Did you take it down?” “Lucien, look at me please. Gus and James changed your brace yesterday, lighter weight, do you remember? You did nothing wrong,” Jean told him, holding his hand, kissing his cheek. “Hey Blake, you were very happy yesterday when we ate dinner. Your leg felt better in the new brace, Gus told you the swelling was going down nicely, and you told me it did not hurt like before. You did not do anything wrong,” Aaron told him, touching his shoulder, trying to help Jean decrease his anxiety. ‘Diane, why can’t I remember? I can’t remember a damn thing about what Gus did yesterday. This is so maddening,” Lucien told her, tears in his eyes.

Gus walked up to the nurse’s station as Diane was calling Richard. “I got this, Diane. Richard should not have to come up here right now. We will all help him,” Gus told her. When Gus and Diane walked into the room, Gus looked at Jean, Aaron and Lucien. “Good morning folks. I understand Lucien has created a bit of a ruckus, already. Aaron, why don’t you sit down? I know your head is still pounding, and Lucien’s booming voice is not what you need to deal with this early in the day,” Gus told the group. Diane helped Aaron get into a chair, packed his neck in cold compresses. “Thank you. That helps already, Diane.”

“Now Jean, let us help our boy this morning. Lucien, tell me what is going on?” Gus asked him, as he checked the knee. Taking the knee brace off, Gus felt the leg and knee and found nothing amiss. He had Diane put cold compresses on the knee, and wrap the leg in a compression bandage and then prop it on some pillows. “Gus, um I messed up again. Bloody fool in the morning, once again. Forgot what you and James did to my leg yesterday. As happy as I was to get it out of your monstrosity, I forgot, I did. And I um over reacted once again.” “Are you calming down some now, Lucien?” Gus asked.“ ”Well, not really, sorry Gus and Jean. I am trying.”

“Let’s get you sitting up and let me work on your neck and upper back. See if muscle memory from the other day will kick in and help you calm down a bit. Alright?” Once Gus had Lucien’s neck in his hands and was massaging the tight muscles, Jean held his hand, was stroking it, talking softly to him. “Better, um I am doing better. Thank you. I am so sorry.” “Remember, Blake, you have only been here since Saturday morning. This is all going to take time – we are on your time, whatever that is. Don’t get angry at yourself, understood Lucien?” Gus told him. “Need to be in better control, Gus, must be.” “And you will be, one day soon,” Jean said to Lucien, kissing his cheek.

“How about some breakfast for all of us? I will put the kettle on and we can eat. And you Lucien Blake, can keep unwinding for us, alright?” Diane told the lot. ‘Yes, Diane, I am trying, I really am,” Lucien said, looking at everyone, shaking his head. “Diane, before you bring in breakfast, I want to collect a urine sample for drug levels this morning. Let’s check and see if those might have changed markedly. Add it to the notes for me as well, alright?” Gus asked.

“Why are you up here so early, Gus?” Jean asked. “Need to check on Aaron before early surgery this morning. Big car wreck, about midnight, several broken bones need setting. Of course, not simple breaks, so I came in early to get started on them. Thought I could talk Diane out of breakfast. Did not expect to have to degas you, Lucien. But, let me tell you, much easier than the other day,” Gus told them, as he playfully punched Lucien on the arm. “Thank you, Gus, once again.” 

Before Gus left the floor, he called Richard to talk with him about the early morning antics from Lucien. “Gus, once again, thank you for helping with both Aaron and Lucien. I will talk with Lucien and Jean at lunch today. Will update the notes and will want to talk more with you later today, after your surgeries,” Richard told his friend and colleague.

After breakfast, Jean asked Lucien about taking a shower, trimming his beard. “Yes, Jean, I will do that this morning. I know there are meetings tomorrow, Friday, and you will not have the time to help me, right?” Lucien asked, reaching for her hand. ”That’s right, Lucien,” Jean told him. Jean unwrapped his leg, and brought the crutches to him. He carefully walked to the shower, sat on the bench and as Jean handed him some shampoo, he grabbed her hand, pulled her towards his face and kissed her, deeply, passionately. “I am so sorry about this morning. Since you have been here with me, you have not been able to sleep late, and I must apologize to you. I love you Jean, I do.” “I know that Lucien. I love you and I will put with your antics a few more mornings before I do –“ “What Jean? What are you going to do to me?” Lucien said with a big grin on his face, anticipating what, he did not know. “Um, I have not figured it out yet. Need the soap now?” “Yes, I do. Will you help me rinse off?” “Of course.” 

They both heard a knock on the door and smiled at each other. “We are both in here. Who is it?” Lucien said. ”Folks, it is Carol, Diane just went off shift, wanted to ask if you need anything?” “Yes, Carol, could you get him a clean pair of shorts to put on. And Gus had his knee in cold compresses and the compression bandage this morning. Will need to help him with that as well,” Jean told her. “Yes, Diane updated me about this morning. Will hand you some shorts in a minute,” Carol told them.

Once he was out of the shower, Lucien used his crutches to move towards the sink. Jean had his beard trimming supplies, razor and such for him to begin trimming and straightening it up. As he looked in the mirror, he said, “Jean, um I still look pretty gaunt, don’t I?” “Yes you do, but not quite as ghastly as earlier in the week. I think rest, eating more each day, and drugs decreasing should make a difference in the next month or so, don’t you?” “Yes I do. I think there is one more thing to add to your list, being in bed with my gal – holding her, messing around, sleeping in her clutches – that should help me as well,” Lucien said, eyebrows dancing, smiling at his Jeannie. 

“Jean, look at this area on my upper right chest. It looks old, but I can’t recall what happened. Do you know?” “Lucien, I do know. But you need to think about it and see if you can remember,” Jean told him, kissing the healed wound caused by Victor Gennardy’s gun shot into her love’s chest so many years ago.

Hugh and James walked into Lucien’s room and found him in bed, his leg wrapped and packed in cold compresses, propped up on pillows. “Want to take a ride with us this morning, Major?” Hugh asked him. “Yes, I do. Where are we going?” Lucien responded, delighted to see more than the four walls of his room. “I want you to see Hannam, give us your input on his condition. Richard is meeting us there in 15 minutes. So we need to get a shirt and shorts on you, get your leg back into the new brace, get you into the wheelchair, grab your crutches, and we will be off. Where is Jean?” Hugh asked. “Jean is in the shower.” “Jean, it is James, we are taking Lucien for a while. Carol will know the details. No hurry getting out of there, alright?” “Yes, I will take my time. When are you coming back?” “Probably an hour or so,” Hugh told her. 

The three of them, along with two of the security detail, headed towards the tropical disease unit. Richard met them in a room just inside the unit. “Lucien, Robert is very ill, the heat, dehydration, malaria, his high body temperature, organs are faltering. We wanted your medical opinion, insight into his situation.” As he handed Lucien Hannam’s chart, Lucien scanned it, gave them a perplexed look periodically, and then asked his questions. “Is he on any of the same drugs I was on? Anything else? Malaria medications – aren’t they working? Does he have a resistant strain? Is Robert allergic to it? Dehydration is complicating this. You need to treat the symptoms as a complex of issues. Liver function – this is pretty dire right now for him.”

James looked at Lucien, “Talk to us about the types of malaria where you were. What were you told?” “ _Plasmodium falciparum_ was the predominant strain. But many times the malaria treatment drugs did not work. That is why I chose to work with alternative therapies. And I stayed on prophylactic therapy while I was there. Hannam would not. I would check with Aaron about other medications to try.” “We will. Do you think he is able to think straight about this?” “Yes I do. He still has a hell of a headache but yes I would ask him.”

Lucien entered the unit and was taken aback. Robert Hannam looked so desperately ill. Getting up onto his crutches, Lucien walked to the bedside. He talked to Hannam and got no response, of course. Lucien held his hand, talked calmly to him, told him that he had excellent doctors working with him and that he was quite ill, but they were doing a good job helping him. He was in Melbourne at the Military Hospital and had a bad case of malaria. Holding his hand, Lucien put his hand on Hannam’s forehead. He was so hot, still so much fever. He knew if this fever did not break soon, Hannam will have a terrible prognosis. “Has he said anything? Anything at all?” “No, Lucien, he has not uttered a word since we admitted him,” Richard said. 

“Richard, Richard, if he dies, I will never find out why he took me, what I did – I won’t,” Lucien told him with an increasing level to his voice, anger beginning to creep into it. “Major, let’s talk about this. How long have you been away?” “Over two years.” “How long have you been here at hospital?” “Five or Six days.” “Now, Major, why do you expect to figure this mystery out in days when you were gone years? Tell me that.” “I see your point, Richard. But what if we can’t in two years?” “We don’t have to cross that bridge until then, do we?” “I guess we don’t. But I am not satisfied with your argument, Richard.” “Then put your brain in gear and start working on your mystery,” Richard told him as he held both of Lucien’s hands.

Once Jean was out of the shower and had her clothing on, she walked to Aaron’s room to thank him for his help with Lucien this morning and to ask it he was feeling any better. “Jean, it is nice to talk with you. My head still hurts, but maybe not as much as earlier. Gus keeps checking on me. I still don’t understand fully what that is about,” Aaron said. “I think Gus is still trying, in his own way, to apologize to you for the other morning. I for one am glad he has you on his early morning list. Lucien certainly needed him today. Oh, Aaron, on another topic, I wanted to invite you to come home with us when Lucien is released from hospital. I have heard indirectly that we may be home by Christmas, well, unless Lucien has a setback. There is plenty of room in the house and I imagine most all of your physicians here in hospital will be with us. Well, of course, unless you have other plans.” 

“Jean, I have no other plans for Christmas, and yes, I will go home with you and Lucien for a while. Won’t be able to work with this headache. Need someone to make certain I do not fall flat on my face. Since I have been injured, I have observed that the POW grant team is a close knit group, extremely intelligent, caring, and thoughtful. I would like to spend the holidays with all of you.” “And, tomorrow you will meet more members of the Blake household – Matthew and Alice – he is Chief Superintendent of the Ballarat Police and she is the Police Surgeon, and Rose, a reporter for the Ballarat newspaper. Good people. They have helped me survive the last two years,” Jean told him.

Richard walked into Lucien’s room carrying a medical chart and was quickly followed by Carol, pushing a cart with lunch. “We have some lunch for everyone and then I understand that Richard will be talking to you two,” Carol announced. “Lucien and Jean, do you mind if Aaron eats with the four of us as well?” Richard asked. “Of course not,” Lucien told his friend. “I am interested in what happened this morning and Aaron can help me collect some more details. I have Gus and Diane’s notes already,” Richard told Lucien, reaching for his shoulder to touch. 

Richard had several questions about Lucien’s morning episode. For instance, he needed to know how Lucien felt when he woke up, what had upset him so much. Then he wanted to ask Jean and Aaron how they responded to his distress, how Lucien reacted to them telling him what happened the day before, and what their perspective on Gus helping out was. 

“Jean, if I remember correctly, this is the first event, first _current_ event, since Lucien was admitted to hospital, that he forgot. Is that right?” “Yes, Richard, that is right. Everything else has been before. Any ideas? Is there something new beginning to happen to him?” Jean asked, reaching for Lucien’s hand to hold. “Jean, that is the question we are all asking,” Richard said.

Aaron entered the conversation, “Can I add my thoughts in here? Early mornings are hard for Lucien. Seems to be more confused at that time of day than the remainder of the day. The new brace – well, James gave him some pain medication ahead of time. Paul, Danny and Charlie were here. As well as Rose and the ladies. It was a busy afternoon. Evening was as well – Joseph was here, Lucien walked with Charlie, James was up here as well. Maybe just too much activity on Lucien’s weakened physiology? Could all of those events been muddled up with the new brace? Do you have the results on the drug screen from this morning yet? I am wondering if there might be something happening with breakdown products of the drugs and the pain medication,” Aaron finished as his analysis spilled out of him. As he looked at Richard, who was taking notes, Aaron thought to himself – First time in days I felt like a physician, dealing with a complicated patient problem. It felt good. Probably will make my head hurt even more, but so be it. Lucien is a good man. I feel useful, finally. 

“Yes, Aaron, this is why I wanted you in here talking with us. Thank you,” Richard told him, as he walked up to Aaron and shook his hand. “I am talking with Gus later this afternoon. And I put a rush on the drug levels. We will all get to the bottom of this, Lucien. Don’t worry about it. You have a team to help you. Please remember that, alright?” Richard said, as he walked up to Lucien’s bedside, placing his hand on top of both Jean and Lucien’s. “Richard, I um well, so embarrassed about the morning screaming. Do I need something to um well um – “ Lucien struggled to figure out his question, his concern. “Not ready to go down that road Lucien. Going to give you time – it has not even been a week since you have been in our care. Too early to medicate – I have been talking to Alice each day as well as the team here. We are not ready to go down that road,” Richard told him. 

Aaron stood up and thanked them for the conversation and lunch and walked towards his room. Carol told him she would be right in to help pack his neck in cold compresses and then put him into bed for an afternoon nap. With both of them out of the room, Richard spoke up. “Alright, you two, I want to start a conversation about Sunday evening. “Major, do you remember what happened?” Jean glared at Richard, easily broadcasting her dislike of the topic he brought up. Richard said nothing to her.

“Yes, I do Richard. I remembered that I was in camp with you, James, Joseph and Hugh. I know that I was beaten, tortured, starved, nearly killed. I know that with certainty,” Lucien told him. “But, um Jean, well, you have not talked much about it. It is like, maybe you were not here in the room when all of that came gushing out. I don’t remember your touch, talking with me, holding my hand at all that evening,” Lucien said, as he reached for her hands to hold, kiss. 

“Lucien, I got really angry, very stubborn that evening. James ordered not only me, but also Danny and Charlie out of the room. Sent us away. Said I did not need to see or hear what you were um well – So we went down the hall. And James even tried to give me a ‘mickey’ and I knew, I just knew what he was up to, and I did not drink the tea that Diane had ‘fixed’ for me. I got stupid stubborn and I have not wanted to tell you this. So why are you asking me about it now?” Jean, took a deep breath as she completed her thoughts. 

“And what else did you do Jean? Tell me. Let Richard and me hear your take on that night,” Lucien asked her. “I don’t know why we are talking about this now, I just don’t,” Jean said as she looked at both Lucien and Richard. “Jean, on the way back here from seeing Hannam this morning, I asked Richard about Sunday evening. And the fact that the two of us have barely discussed it. I remember how stubborn you can get, so I asked him if that was what happened. I understand that was part of it but also there was more. Tell me. Let’s get it out and on the table, so to speak, will you Jean?”

“Lucien, I um got so mad that Richard called Alice and Matthew to talk with me, to walk me back from the precipice that I was nearly falling into. I um was embarrassed, unwilling to admit I overreacted. I know I should have settled with James in a more adult manner, but still not able to deal with it,” Jean told him, looking away from his eyes, dropping her gaze to the floor. “And I imagine you are upset with me for bringing it up, right?” “Yes, I am, Lucien. You have so much on your plate now, you don’t need to be fighting my battles, worrying about me, you don’t,” Jean told him, still unable to look him in the face. 

Lucien reached for Jean’s face, turned it towards him, made her look him in the eyes, and then smiled at his Jeannie. “We are only going to make it through all of this with the help of our friends. There are going to be times when we are going to have to admit we need help, we don’t have all of the answers, and our support team, the Blake family, will be here to pick us up and put us on our feet, once again,” Lucien told her. “Now crawl into bed with me for a little while. Alright my love?” “Yes, move over a little bit.”

As he walked out of the room, Richard said nothing to either of his friends. There was a smile on his face as he approached the nurse’s station. “Everything alright, Dr. McCoy?” Carol asked. “Yes, Carol, I think it is. Going to get some more tea, write up notes, and then be on my way for afternoon appointments. Keep an eye on the trio, right?” “Of course I will, you know that. They are all mighty fine folks, just need them to heal. Gus called and wants to talk with you later today.” “Right, I will remember that.”

Carol came in the room about 2 PM and told Lucien, “First day of therapy on your leg, neck and shoulders starts now. Let’s get underway, alright, Lucien?” “Yes, let’s get started. I would rather have you do this than Gus. That man is so damn intimidating.” Carol brought hot compresses to pack his neck while she started on leg muscle stretches. It was not long before Lucien was complaining with a few 'Bloody Hells' elicited in response. She packed his leg in hot compresses and moved to the other leg. And then onto his neck and shoulders. She used a combination of stretches and massaging to work his upper back to a point of him complaining once again. “You are acting like a wimp, you know that Lucien?” “Yes, I am, Carol,” Lucien told her, smiling. After Carol had completed her work, she said, “Lucien, I am putting your leg back in the brace and I want you to take a nap. So settle in and I will cover you up, dim the lights, and let you rest. Jean is just down the hall. She has much to finish before tomorrow’s meeting,” Carol explained to him. “Thank you. I am fine. And I am quite tired,” Lucien told her as he yawned, then closed his eyes. 

While Carol and Lucien were doing the therapy, Jean walked to the workroom to continued editing the draft of the third paper. She also had some reports to finalize for the Friday morning meeting. She was distracted at times with the blackboard in the room. She noticed that Bill had added some additional notes and that the time when Lucien was off of the drugs was moved back a few days. Discovering the changes was occupying a bit more time than it should have, but she liked puzzles, crazy hard puzzles to solve and this one was a doozy.

When Bill returned from digging through newspaper articles in the library, he found Charlie and Danny waiting for him. “We need to call Matthew and Rose and talk through what each of us is going to handle tomorrow at our meeting. Do you have time now?” Charlie asked. “You bet. That is a good idea,” Bill answered.

Danny placed the phone call and they all gathered around the speaker telephone. The familiar gruff ‘Lawson’ answered them. “Good Day Boss - Danny, Bill and Charlie here and we are ready to talk with you and Rose.” Rose answered and said she was ready to take notes as well. 

“I will start. Been to the library digging through stories, leads that Rose got me started on earlier in the week. I will talk about news stories, trying to place them in the country and time frame when Lucien and Hannam were there. Also have some intriguing photos for us to look at,” Bill told all of them.

Bill continued, “I am also looking at the Hannam notebook which is apparently in code and probably dealing with the drugs Lucien is on. I have a second notebook that Paul gave us yesterday. We think it is Lucien’s and it is written in French, Chinese, some English. Haven’t made much progress yet. Blake has not seen this.” 

Charlie began, “I am working on the Hannam and Blake passports, as well as the new one that Paul gave us yesterday. Looking at names used, aliases, photos, countries and trying to connect to Bill’s newspaper story hunt as well as the identity of the Mystery Man. Boss has not seen the new passport yet either. Going to take our picture of the Mystery Man to Paul this afternoon and see if this is the guy luring around their shop and the bank.”

Danny finished up from their end, “Doc still does not remember the old chest wound. I think Jean told you about that. We are thinking maybe that memory has something to do with Hannam and the Mystery Man. I will be updating the blackboard and having a second one delivered. Adding in new information on when Paul stopped seeing the guy lurking. Trying to figure out if he is the same as the Mystery Man and will work with Charlie on this.”

“Alright, let me talk about what I am doing. Working out the details of the bank key, accessing the box there and doing it discretely so we are not outed. Alice and Richard still do not have names of the drugs Blake was taking. We need to get a handle on the new passport and figure out what alias the Mystery Man is using. Did you find any gear for the Mystery Man yet?” Matthew asked. “Nothing Boss,” Charlie answered.

“This is Rose. I talked with old man Henderson again. Bill, your talk with him on Monday loosened him up a bit but he is still hiding something, in my opinion. I also have more news stories to share with Bill and the group.”

Joseph walked up to Carol’s desk and greeted her. “Carol, Good afternoon. I need to talk with Jean before I leave for Ballarat. Checked the room and Lucien is asleep, so where do you suggest I locate her?” “Joseph, good to see you. Jean is just down the hall and is working on the Grant meeting for tomorrow. The boys, Lucien and Aaron, are asleep. Danny, Charlie and Bill are talking to Matthew and Rose.” “Thank you. See you tomorrow.”

When Joseph walked into the room, Jean was most certainly not working on the Grant meeting materials. She was asleep, on the couch. Looked very comfortable. As he touched her shoulder and gently shook her, he said, “Hey there, Jean, it is Joseph. Can you wake up for me? Need to get your list of clothing items and whatever else you want from the Blake House.” “Um Joseph, well, what did I do? Was working on the meeting materials, then looking at the blackboard that Bill and I started, and now, what time is it?” “It is about 3:30. I need to leave soon for the depot. Do you have a list for me?” “Yes I do, it is on the table. Also there is a suitcase in the closet in the studio to put everything in. Rose took a list back yesterday. I think all of it will fit into the suitcase I have in mind. Thank you for helping us. How are Mattie and the kids?” “Glad to help. Blake is getting excited about Sunday’s party. Should be a good deal of fun for him. He knows there will be presents, his Uncle Lucien will be there, and plenty of cake to eat. Got to go. See you tomorrow morning when I get back. Give the Major a hug for me,” Joseph told Jean, as his security detail entered the room to escort him to the depot. “Jean, call Matthew and tell him we will be leaving on the 4 PM train, should be there by 6 PM.” “I will. Be safe, Joseph.”


	22. Ballarat and Melbourne

Ch 22 Ballarat and Melbourne 

On Thursday, December 10th, Joseph McCann and his security detail boarded the 4 PM train to Ballarat for the group session. When they arrived in Ballarat, waiting for them on the train platform was his good friend, Matthew Lawson, who had two of his own constables alongside. Once they arrived at the Blake House, Joseph noticed a police detail at the front door as well as a couple more squad cars. My goodness, Joseph thought, Matthew is serious about protecting me and the Blake family here at 7 Mycroft Avenue. Still probably a good idea, since we still do not understand what happened to Lucien Blake.

As they entered the house, Joseph smelled food, not fish and chips, but what – perhaps an Italian entrée, of some sort. “Hi Rose, what do I smell? Did you bake for me tonight?” Rose looked at him, smiled and said, “Of course not Joseph. The ladies of Jean’s Thursday afternoon group session brought food, mainly casseroles that could be reheated. Several types of biscuits and a cake as well. They have us stocked for at least a week, I think. I decided to reheat the pasta casserole. Looks and smells really good, doesn’t it?” Joseph asked, “Rose, how did you decide what to reheat tonight? Which ones to put in the freezer? This is so nice of them.” “Joseph for tonight, I picked one prepared by Ella, Vincent’s wife. She is almost as good a cook as Jean.”

After she had completed surgery hours, Alice walked into the kitchen and spoke to Joseph and Rose. “Joseph, good to see you. Are you hungry? This smell even has my mouth watering. Rose, thank you for taking charge of dinner tonight.” “My pleasure, Alice. Matthew is changing clothes, and we have four security personnel to feed as well. I think we have enough for everyone,” Rose told her.

While they were eating dinner, Joseph pulled out a list from his suit coat pocket of what clothing Jean wanted Alice and Rose to pack for her. “Alice, here is what Jean needs and Rose, I understand you have a list of what Lucien wants. Also, Jean told me to be certain you pack his journal and the pen she gave him. There is a suitcase in the closet in the studio that should hold all of this.” 

“Now, I have more um – what should we call it – orders , I think, for you folks. First, Mattie is planning a birthday party for Little Blake on Sunday, 1:30 PM, in a room near Lucien. We hope you can stay and be a part of this celebration. She is looking for the biggest red bow she can find to pin on Lucien.” “You know Joseph, for the last two birthday parties, your little Blake wanted his Uncle Lucien for a present. Finally, this year, he gets what he wants. Should be a lot of fun. Going to have cake as well right?” Matthew said with a chuckle. “Of course, Matthew,” Joseph told his good friend.

“Now from Diane and Carol, there is a VIP suite on the floor for the three of you to stay in. One large bedroom and they have an extra bed placed in the living room for Rose. You can eat with Jean and Lucien as well. However, on Friday night, you are going to eat dinner with Hugh, James, and Richard at their favorite Italian restaurant near the hospital.“

Joseph smiled and continued, “And I am not finished yet with my announcements. Carol, Diane, Aaron and Bill are planning a surprise, yes a _surprise_ party for Lucien. Saturday morning, 8 AM, in his room,” Joseph said with a grin. “Joseph, how can you do a surprise party in his room with him sleeping there?” Alice asked, looking very perplexed at the idea. “Well, you needed to let me finish the plans, Alice. On Friday night, Jean and Lucien will stay in another room, near the nurse’s station. Everyone is taking part in fixing it up, just for the two of them, food from the Italian place, a regular bed, flowers, candles, wine, limited visits by Diane during the night – their first ‘get away’ since he has returned. They do not know about this yet either.” Joseph finished, grinning. “I am so glad that the party planners assigned me to tell you all about this. Hard to keep a straight face around Jean and Lucien.” “Joseph, I want to be involved in the surprise party. I want to help with the decorations. I will let Bill know in the morning when I see him. I will bring some of items from here to add to the decorations they already have,” Rose told him. “Excellent idea, Rose,” Matthew told her.

Rose asked Joseph about Mattie and the children. “Um, Rose, everyone is doing fine. Jenny is teething, and is not very content right now. But Lucien wrote her a script for teething gel from the Oriental Medicine Shop and she is not waking us up at night now. Blake is excited about his upcoming birthday, and Mattie is wondering if I will ever come home for more than a few hours at a time this week.”

“So, Joseph tell us about Jean and Lucien. I get a medical update each day, so what about how they are doing, being together again,” Alice asked. “I think Lucien is looking less haggard looking now, is gaining some weight, you won’t believe this, he isn’t using his hair cream – so his hair is becoming a mass of curls, with more grey than brown in it. I think Little Blake is going to tell him to comb his hair on Saturday morning. Will be interesting. With his knee is in a different lighter weight brace, Lucien has more freedom to walk the hallway, which he is doing. Jean and Lucien spent Tuesday evening talking about the POW grant, the papers published and being written, and he has become interested in Jean’s burn scar on her leg, much to her consternation. She is strong, but realizing that she has to give way to the team, not carry it all, like she is prone to do. I found her this afternoon taking a nap in one of the lounges. Can’t say I blame her for catching some extra sleep. Lucien’s early starts to the day are catching up with her. His most troubling time of the day has shifted from evening to early morning. I think he has been processing what happened to him all night long, and then at first light, it bubbles out somedays – but other times, it gushes out like a fire hose.” 

After dinner, Joseph and Alice walked to the Surgery and sat down to talk more about Lucien’s condition. “So Joseph, what I am hearing from Richard and you confirmed, the mornings are becoming interesting for all concerned. Even Gus Wilson is getting involved. Have you witnessed any of this?” Alice asked. “No, I have not. Just conversation with the team and written notes. Gus seems to be checking on Aaron each morning, and because he is there so early and Lucien seems to be keying on first light, he is helping out. Alice, he is good, surprisingly good at handling Lucien. Certainly we did not expect him to be involved beyond Lucien’s knee. Um, I need to tell you something else, Little Blake and Gus are quite the pals. Blake is not the least bit bothered by his gruff voice, huge size. He is even coming to both parties I understand. 

Alice and Rose took their packing lists to the studio and began gathering up everything they could easily find. Alice had some difficulty finding a couple of clothing items for Jean, but Rose figured out where they were. Then, Rose procured Lucien’s list of items. “Rose, his journal and pen?” Alice asked. “Got it. And I put in a couple of pair of swimming trunks,” Rose told her. “Wait a minute Rose. We should also look for two shirts for him to wear as well. I know his back is heavily scarred. I understand now why he is always has his chest and back covered up,” Alice added. “What about these, Alice?” “Yes, Rose, good choice, add them in. I expect he will be doing aquatic therapy next week. Will need both trunks and shirts.” 

As they packed the suitcase, both Rose and Alice were still thinking of what they might need to add. “Does Lucien have any favorite biscuits he likes? The ladies brought four or five types today,” Rose suggested. “Let’s ask Matthew, he may know,” Alice said. “Did I hear my name in vain?” Matthew told them as he walked into the studio. ‘Should we take Lucien some biscuits as well?” “Of course, he’ll eat anything. Put a couple different kinds in the suitcase,” Matthew grinned as he answered them. “I am looking forward to talking with him over the weekend, not crime solving, just chatting, like we did in the sunroom. That bugger has been gone so damn long.” 

The group session had a dozen participants in attendance, all were interested in Lucien, how he was doing. They talked about their trip to Melbourne on Saturday, how they were somewhat anxious if Lucien would know them. Joseph suggested they talk to him, let him hear their voices, he thought that would help Lucien. 

Then Cliff asked Joseph, “How are you handling Lucien’s return? We know what good friends you two were. Has he figured out who you are? How you know each other?” “At first, I couldn’t tell him who I was and that was the hardest part on Saturday for me. But on Sunday, Lucien saw our wedding photos and figured out that we were good friends, but not until Sunday evening did he put it all together. We talked last night for a couple of hours, it was just like the old days. Cliff, I have missed him,” as tears came from Joseph. Cliff got up, gave him a hug. “Joseph, you are a good man. We appreciate you coming to Ballarat for us. You have made a huge difference in our lives. We want you to know that.” “Mates, you have helped me as well. Thank you,” Joseph told his group, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. After an hour of talking, the group got ready to head home. “Joseph, remember to come and chat with us on Saturday,” Vincent said. “I will, unless – “ “Yeah, we know,” Arnie said, as he gave Joseph a hug.

“Joseph, here are our plans for the remodel of the studio bathroom for Lucien. Richard asked me to send the plans with you. Please give them to him tomorrow, will you? We will chat on Saturday with Jean and Richard more about this. Arnie, Vincent and I think it is a good idea, we have a cost estimate included, and we think we will have it completed by Christmas, as long as they give us the go ahead on Saturday,” Cliff told him. 

“Wait, wait, Lucien and Jean home by Christmas? Who told you that?” Joseph said, scratching his head. “When was that decided?” Joseph asked. “Oh, our fearless leader, you did not know this? Richard asked us on Tuesday to get on it, fast. Deadline is Christmas. Very exciting. We may be living here at the end of the project, but it will be done. We three have agreed to that deadline,” Cliff said, smiling at Joseph. “Fantastic news, yes, so good. Does Lucien know this yet?” Joseph asked. “Don’t think so. You know, a lot depends on his progress, Richard told us. Hope there are no derailments,” Cliff added.

While the Group session was underway, Matthew called Danny and talked about their arrival on Friday morning, how many security detail were coming, and where the three of them would be staying for the weekend. “Boss, we need you to come and help us unravel several new threads of evidence. Will be good to talk with you, not on the telephone but in the flesh. Bring your plans for the bank visit. I think they know Charlie and me as coppers and we need some fresh faces in there to get to the bank box. I have several Melbourne police lined up to guard the exits of the bank when we make our move. We want to do this tomorrow morning. So, bring your pistol as well. See you at 8 at the train depot,” Danny told him. “Yes, see you then Danny,”

After the group session participants left the Blake house, Joseph and Matthew walked to the sunroom, each with an empty drinking glass and Matthew picked up a bottle of Lucien’s scotch. “Matthew, I have not had some down time all week. I envied Jean this afternoon, sleeping on the couch, in the middle of the afternoon. Don’t let me drink too much, I will fall asleep and you will have one heck of a time getting me up early in the morning. You know, other times I was here and had to leave early for the train, Jean took care of me, rolled me out the door in time to catch the train. Who is in charge now?” Joseph said to his friend, as he took a drink of the Scotch. As Alice walked into the sunroom, she told Joseph, “I will not take on Jean’s role, so I suggest you set a couple of alarms. We all should get up about 5 AM.“ “Yes, Alice. I will set alarms for both Joseph and me. That is so early, but we must be on our way. I assume the security detail will do the same,” Rose told them. “I put Jean and Lucien’s suitcase by the front door already. They will be unhappy if we forget to bring it with us,” Alice said. 

“Um yes, something else to tell all of you. Aaron Gage – the chap that got knocked cold on Saturday afternoon. He still has a fierce headache, but the POW team and Gus have taken over his case and he seems to be adjusting to forced idleness. He eats most of his meals with Jean and Lucien and Gus is checking on him each morning,” Joseph told them. “Why is Gus involved?” Alice asked. “Alice, earlier in the week, Gus figured out more about both skull fractures by suggesting that Aaron would have a very deep bruise, near the base of his skull. When he palpated the area, he found a massive bruise developing, made Aaron shed tears, and he is still trying to make amends with him. Visits Aaron each morning, has Carol and Diane pack his neck several times a day. Whenever Lucien is released from hospital, Aaron will spending time here with the Blake crew, according to Jean. I know you all will like Aaron Gage. This weekend will give you time to talk with him, meet him,” Joseph explained. 

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, it was late afternoon, just before dinner, and Charlie walked to the Oriental Medicine shop, entered from the rear, to talk with Paul about the man lurking around the bank and his business. He waited in the back of the business until no customers were in the shop. Paul joined him and they looked at the pictures Charlie had of the Mystery Man. There was a full face shot and one that was a profile. Paul looked at the photos for nearly a minute before he replied. “Charlie, your photos are not the guy hanging around here. I know what the profile looks like as well as the full face view. I was so hopeful that we had it figured out and I could relax some with him in custody. Who is this guy in the photo? Do you have any idea?” Paul asked. “Not really. But we do know he hit Aaron Gage, one of the Tropical Med Docs in the head on Saturday. We also think he could have hit Lucien,” Charlie said.

“Now Paul, what about this fellow? Has he been hanging around here?” Charlie asked as he handed Paul a photo of Aaron Gage. “Definitely not, Charlie. No question in my mind,” Paul said very quickly, with conviction.

“Now look at this passport that Lucien gave you the other day and you passed along to us. Do you think this passport guy and the mystery man are the same person?” Charlie asked. “Well, I don’t know. Can’t really tell from the little passport photo can we?” “Yes, Paul, that is what I thought as well.“

“Last photo for you to look at,” Charlie told him as he handed him Bill Hobart’s photograph. “No way. He has not been around here either,” Paul quickly said.

“So, we have maybe two people or maybe three. Let’s see, the Mystery man is in hospital, handcuffed to the bed. Passport guy – well, we have a name on it and Danny is doing background checks on him. And then maybe the guy hanging around the bank and your business, our ‘lurking ‘guy? I wanted this to be settled, I did, not be more complicated,” Charlie told Paul 

“What about the key to the bank box, Charlie? Anything on it yet.” “We have staked out the bank for the last day or so and have not seen the lurking guy yet. Nor have we spotted the passport guy. Matthew Lawson from the Ballarat police is coming up tomorrow and is planning out our approach to the bank. We are going to have police watching the exits of the bank and a couple of people from Ballarat will be in the bank getting the contents of the bank box. If anyone in the bank tries to leave, we arrest them. We may have someone placed in your business as well.” 

By the time Carol had gathered all of the evening dinner orders, she counted up a roomful. Tonight, they were not eating in Lucien’s room but she decided they could all gather in the room where the blackboards were. A second board was delivered during the late afternoon, as Danny had requested. Lucien, Jean and Aaron would be joined by Bill, Charlie, Danny, Gus, Richard, and whomever else showed up. She always ordered a couple extra meals figuring one of the medical team would swing by hoping for a meal, and she always made certain there was plenty of food. Lucien was eating the biggest end two full meals now, quite a change from nearly a week ago when he arrived in James’ A&E treatment room. His large frame was beginning to fill out some, the dark circles under his eyes were lifting, and his curly hair was emerging. She could not decide if she liked the new hair style or not. 

After dinner, as Diane walked Aaron back to his room she told him, “Aaron, I need to get a set of vitals on you, repack your neck, do a neurological check, give you your medications, answer any questions you may have.” “Of course, Diane, I am ready to lay back down. Had an early ‘Lucien’ start again today,” Aaron told her as they entered his room. After she completed her tasks, Diane told him, “Neurological signs are improving, Aaron. First time since the weekend. That is good news indeed.” “Yes, Diane, I need to be getting better so I can leave hospital when Lucien and Jean return to Ballarat. I am going home with them for the holidays, did you know that?” Aaron asked her, with a grin on his face. “No, I did not, but I think it is a marvelous idea.”

Diane continued, “Now, I am going to close the door and we need to talk about Saturday morning. Carol has a food list organized and I wanted the two of us to look it over and add anything else we can think of. Bill will be helping with the decorating. Carol will join us about 6 AM and we will keep a close eye on the room they will be sleeping in and keep them there until 8 AM. Also, I have the list of who will be coming.”

In looking through the list, Aaron noticed both Matthew and Alice would be there. “Jean told me a bit about them. Will be good to meet them. I imagine Alice will be helping both me and Lucien when we are in Ballarat, as well as some of the POW team will undoubtedly be there too. Have you meet Alice? Do you know her?” Aaron asked.

“I have not met either of them. Talked with them on the telephone at various times this week, but Carol was on duty when they were here on Saturday. Alice must be one talented physician to be the Police Surgeon, on the POW grant team, and handle Lucien’s Surgery list as well. Lots of balls to keep in the air, as they say,” Diane told him. “And when Jean speaks about the two of them, it is so obvious how much the three of them mean to each other, how important their friendship is,” Aaron added.

Gus was finishing up a cup of tea when Bill placed all of the passports on the table. Bill wanted to talk about them, who they belonged to, names, aliases, and such. “Wait, mates. Can I ask you to do something else first? I know I invited myself into this illustrious investigative team and I really need to be brought up to speed on what you already know. All I am aware of is Lucien’s serious skull fracture, Hannam’s malaria, Lucien’s ear infection. Of course, I know about the knee injury but that did not happen while he was away. It happened here in Melbourne,” Gus told the group. 

“Alright, Gus, not a bad idea to make certain we all are on the same page, so to speak. Let’s use the new blackboard for this exercise. We start with September 26, 1962 when Boss did not come home for dinner with Jean, Matthew and Alice. Then a couple of days later Matthew filed a missing person report. In early October, 1962 we had a report here in Melbourne of a duo, slouch hat guy and bearded guy hanging around hospital and Oriental medicine shop,” Charlie told Danny as he put the beginnings of the timeline on the new board. 

“Write so we can read it, Danny,” Jean told him. “Yes I am trying to, Auntie Jean. It is a lot harder than it looks,” as he fixed his poor penmanship, then wiped his chalk filled hands on his dark trousers. “Stop Danny, you are going to make this worse. I will help you remove it when you are completely done with the timeline,” Jean told him, as the others chuckled at him.

“Now Danny add in that I had that strange cardiac episode on January 21, 1963. And you told us that the duo disappeared about one week before Australia Day which would agree with when I had my spell,” Jean told them. “Jean, I did not know that. Of course, I wouldn’t, you are not my patient, I have not looked at the medical chart that James has on you here. Is there any explanation, any link between the two men leaving, and your episode?” Gus asked. “Yes, Gus, I think Lucien and I were disconnected, he left me, left the country. But Alice and James think that I am a bit touched, somewhat crazy, in my thinking on this,” Jean told him. Gus said nothing more, just shook his head, smiled at her. “You think the same thing, don’t you Gus?” Jean snapped right back at him. “No, no Jean, not going to respond at all. I am getting subtle clues from your man to keep my thoughts to myself,” Gus told her, smiling at Lucien, who was wagging his finger at Gus.

Danny then began to tell everyone about the bank accounts. “We know that in January 1963, both Doc and Hannam opened bank accounts in the bank across the street from the Oriental Medicine shop. They had money deposited in them starting in January 1963, and nothing withdrawn until November 23, 1964. Both accounts are still active today.” “And apparently, I got a bank box with a key then as well. Don’t remember why, nor how I kept track of the key all those months I was gone, but I gave the key to Paul on Monday, November 30th. I must have remembered who he was, knew I could trust him, I don’t really know,” Lucien added. “Yes, Doc, that needs to be there on our time line,” Charlie said.

“Danny, you need to add something before Lucien disappeared. Put down early September, 1962, plans in place to abduct Blake from Ballarat. Will be a place holder for now,” Bill said. “Excellent idea,” Richard added. “And now, let’s put in when Hannam and the Major were discharged from the Army in Canberra on Nov. 13, 1964, arrived in Melbourne on Nov. 20, 1964 via bus, and the fact that the duo was sighted around Nov. 23rd, once again around hospital and Oriental Medicine shop,” Richard continued.

“What about my skull fracture? Did we decide when that happened?” Lucien asked. “I think in October, some time. Your December 5 th X-rays indicate it is nearly healed, so backtracking a bit, assuming 6-8 weeks ago, puts us mid-October or so. You also told us Cambodia was where it happened,” Gus answered, and Danny wrote on the timeline. “Yes, just thinking about it makes my head pound once again,” Lucien told them.

“Now add in when they found me on the street near Jean’s Toy Shop,” Lucien told Danny. “Let me think, it was late on Friday December 4th, and I was out for the count. Finally woke up about 6:15 AM or so according to Joseph. Must have looked a fright when they delivered me to James. Dirty, smelly, long beard and hair, did not know who I was. Still frightens me to think if I was not delivered here, um don’t think I would, well, um I –“ Lucien stumbled to a halt. He looked at the floor, and Jean walked up to him, put her arms around his neck, kissed him. “You do not need to go there, Lucien. You are safe with all of us.” “Yes, I am safe here, with all of you, my good friends, safe, yes, that is right,” Lucien told the group as he looked at each person in the room. “Safe.”

“Alright, add in my second cardiac spell on Dec. 5th and Lucien’s episode on the 5th as well. Both at about 6:30 AM,” Jean told Danny to add these events. “Wait a minute, wait, well, you got reconnected, right?” Gus asked with a grin. “Yes, Gus, but don’t you dare tell Alice that. She said my explanation is pure blather. Not evidence based, not in the least,” Jean told him. “That is what I would have expected her to say, Jean,” Gus told her, smiling at both Lucien and Jean. “Very interesting indeed.”

“What else goes on this early timeline? What about Lucien’s ruck sack contents, like his passports?” Charlie asked, getting excited they were finally getting to the passports. Lucien looked at the group and said, “Folks, I am really getting tired, need to lie down. I am not stopping you from working on this, I just need to call it a day. I woke myself up so early this morning and even with a nap this afternoon, running on fumes right now.“

Almost on cue, Lucien began to yawn and seemed to lose interest in the conversation which was still going strong. Jean noticed how quiet he was becoming and suggested they walk back to his room. “Lucien, let’s get you into bed. Can you stand up or do you need some help?” “Jean, maybe some help would be in order. Really getting tired all of a sudden. “ Gus found a wheelchair and helped him into it, pushed Lucien down the hall to the room, and helped him get ready for bed. “Lucien, need anything else from me?” “No Gus, thank you. See you tomorrow.” “Jean, you alright? Need anything?” Gus asked her. “No, I am fine, Gus. Thank you for helping Lucien get into bed. I will be back to the blackboard in a few minutes.” 

Jean walked up to the side of the bed and offered to work on his back, talk with him until he fell asleep. “Yes, my Jean, lotion on my back would be appreciated. Alice and Matthew are bringing my journal tomorrow, right? They will stay for the weekend, yes? Will be so good to talk with both of them. Last week I can barely remember what they told me. I know they brought you back into my life. You know, Gus and Richard are teasing me about my hair. Should I tone it down for the meeting tomorrow or what?” “Lucien, it is just so different from before. But when you came to A&E last week, it was long, unruly, curly – out of control would be my description of it – and you evidently wore it that way for months. Have any idea why?” Jean told him, smiling at him, reaching for his hand to hold. 

“Not a clue, Jean. And something else that I have not a clue about – the scar, here on my chest.” Lucien took her hand and placed in on the healed gunshot wound. “Why is that on the first blackboard that Bill and you are working on? Why?” “Lucien, I discovered earlier this week that you do not remember what happened when you got shot. That is the only wound on your body that you cannot tell me about. We think it may be important. So it is a clue, on the board, maybe will help us unpack what happened to you.” “Alright, Jeannie, if you say so. I am falling asleep. Good night. Jean,” Lucien told her as he held her hands, kissed them, and closed his eyes. “Good night my love,” Jean told him as she kissed his cheeks, lips and then his neck.

Gus and Richard walked up to the door of Lucien’s room. They noticed that Lucien was already sleeping. Jean walked out to the hall to chat with them. “We wanted to update you on the coverage for our boy Lucien tonight and in the morning. Hugh and I will be here in shifts and Gus will check in early with us. Of course, Diane will be here all night,” Richard told Jean. “And Jean, the latest testing on Lucien. The drug levels continue to decrease. Values are about 30% lower than on admission. The lab is still working on specific chemical structures of the drugs and potential breakdown products. But they are more convinced these are not standard drugs, but something experimental,” Richard explained. 

“Jean, do you need anything tonight? Can either Richard or I help you?” Gus asked. “Don’t think so. I just told Diane I am going to find a quiet place and finish up my prep work for the grant meeting tomorrow. And I want to visit with Charlie, Danny and Bill about the timeline we were working on. I will ask for my sleeping medication when I am finished. See you two in the morning. Hopefully, Lucien will not be acting out,” Jean told them.


	23. A Busy Friday Morning

Ch 23 Busy Friday Morning

Friday morning, first light, and Lucien Blake begins to awaken, starts thinking. I am in hospital, I know that. My knee does not have to be elevated any longer. Does not hurt like before. But, once again, my brain has been chewing on old memories, trying to figure out the Why? How? When? Where? Who? I know I am not really awake yet. Don’t want to disturb Jean or Diane or Aaron like I has been wont to do the last few mornings. Why does my upper right chest hurt so badly? What did I do to it? Must figure this puzzle out. I _can_ do this. I _don’t_ need to scream. 

As he feels his shoulder and chest trying to see if he is injured, he hears someone walk into the room. Thinking to himself, let’s see, not Jean or Aaron. I think they are still in bed. Maybe Diane, no, not her, the footsteps are too heavy. Maybe Richard? Hugh? I heard both of them in and out of the room during the night. Nope, not their footsteps either. Wait, wait, I got it, Gus. Yes, it must be Gus. Once again coming up here, early, to check on Aaron and me. Yes, that is who it is. I know it now. What do I tell him? Does he even know I am awake? I have not screamed this morning. I have not. At least not yet.

Lucien felt someone sit on the edge of the bed, take his hand, feel his pulse, check his neck pulse, but didn’t say a word. He could sense Gus was looking at him. Very quietly, Gus said, “Well, Blake, are you going to talk to me this morning? I know you are waking up, could see you feeling your upper chest. Tell me what is going on, alright?” “Um Gus, well, ah my chest hurts, don’t know why or what I did to cause it. Trying to think through this and not getting very far. Jean tells me I can’t remember this wound and that is why Bill and she added this to one of the blackboards. Maybe important in figuring out my disappearance. Can you feel anything, see anything, maybe help me?” Lucien asked him, trying to keep his voice under control.

“I am going to put my hands on the front and back of the area of the healed wound and you tell me if I am hurting you,” Gus told Lucien. “No feels alright.” “Now I will also push down on it – now.” “Nothing.” “Going to move your right arm and shoulder, now.” “Oh my, um well, hurts like the devil. Feels like I am bleeding. Need to get away. Must run. Must take my pistol. Pick up his pistol. Figure out how to stop the bleeding, hide, disappear. Not supposed to happen this way. Don’t stay here. I must take care of this myself. Not wait for help. Can’t get caught here, just can’t,” Lucien said, rambling, becoming more incoherent as he sketched out what he must do. Gus was surprised he was not screaming, becoming combative with him, but it was obvious he was now semi-awake, working his way through something, perhaps some incident, like a film had started running in his brain. The wound must be a decade old, so what happened in his intelligence assignments before he returned to Ballarat?

Diane heard the conversation from the hallway and walked in. “Gus, what can I do to help?” Improvising an approach, Gus told her, “Get me some bandages for his shoulder, a couple of cold compresses, and an arm sling. I want to bandage this ‘wound’ for him.” Gus shrugged his shoulders, lifted an eyebrow towards her as if to say, ‘Please play along with this.’ Diane quickly left the room, got the supplies that Gus wanted, buzzed the physician’s lounge, and returned to the room. When she arrived, Jean was up, standing at Lucien’s bedside, holding his hand. Gus had him sitting up, and quickly wrapped the shoulder and put his arm in the sling. He indicated to Jean to ask him about this, see what he could remember. “Lucien, tell me what happened. Gus has the wound stabilized and you are in hospital. Tell us about this,” Jean told him, role playing beyond Gus’ expectations. Then Jean sat on the edge of the bed, as close as she could get to Lucien, leaned over to kiss his ‘wounded’ shoulder and asked again, “Tell me Lucien, what is going on?”

Lucien woke up more fully and looked at the Jean and Gus, wiped his eyes, “What is going on? Why are you in bed with me, Jean? You weren’t even there when this happened. Why is my arm in a sling? What are the bandages about?” “Blake tell us, tell us all about it, now. Can you?” Gus asked him. Diane handed Aaron a pad of paper to write down the story that Lucien would tell all of them. He sat on the end of the bed, still in his robe, sleeping shorts, barefooted. Diane quickly left and came back with cold compresses for his neck and packed his sore, bruised neck for him. “Thank you, Diane.”

As Lucien began to unpack his story, Richard and Hugh quietly walked in, stood at the end of the bed. Richard thought once again Gus’ unorthodox, innovative, creative approach to Lucien’s confused mental state had him quiet, focused on a task, willing to talk with them. 

“Jean, um, well, let’s see. Maybe a decade ago, yes, I think that is about right. Before I came back to Ballarat, did not know you even existed yet. In Macau on a covert operation, tailing Victor Green, not that is not right, Gennard, no still not right, Gennardy, yes that is him, Victor Gennardy. He had stolen information from us, what do I call it, film yes, microfilm that I was supposed to retrieve from him. I was ordered to take it away from him at all costs, use whatever force was necessary,” Lucien began to tell Jean, as she looked at him, smiled and held his hand. “Thank you for being here with me, Jean.” “Can you continue, Lucien?” “Um, yes, I think I can.”

“Gus, I followed him to a dark, deserted alley, had my pistol drawn, approached him, thought I could talk him into giving me the film, but he immediately shot from the hip. I moved a bit to the left, the bullet hit me in the shoulder. Before he shot at me a second time, I returned fire, um, well, yes, three to the chest and then one to the head. Ran up to him, took the film from his pocket, took his pistol with me, and used my jacket to stop the blood flowing out of my chest,” Lucien continued his story, his voice beginning to tremble. “Lucien, you told me years ago, one our first trip to Melbourne to the beach cottage, that you were shot during the encounter with one of the foreign agents that you killed. It came down to you or him. You also told me that most of the time, back then, you did not care if you lived or died. But for some reason, you did not want to die that night,” Jean smiled as she told him her memory.

“Yes, Jean this is the same incident we talked about. Something made me keep trying to get away from that alley. My God my chest hurt, bleeding like a stuck pig, needed to get out of there, as far away as I could, needed medical supplies, headed to the safe house, barely made it, collapsed once inside. Knew I had to find the supply of bandages, pack my wound, try to stop the bleeding, and then um well – black, darkness. Don’t know how long I was out,” Lucien said, tears in his eyes, coming to grips with the fact he probably should have died that night. 

“I was told, um, that my handler, Humphrey, found me there some time later, and he stopped the bleeding. Then, I was stitched up, wound properly bandaged, arm in a sling, on pain meds, antibiotics. I stayed in that house until the next evening when he moved me to another safe house, and on to a small boat. I could barely walk, lost a lot of blood. Couple of days later I am in a safe house in Hong Kong. Shoulder still pounding, wound not infected, arm in sling. Visits daily by a Chinese doctor who I knew. Lay low for weeks, recovering. Bloody Hell, I remembered this, I did!” Lucien exclaimed, grabbing for Jean’s hand, kissing it. 

“Lucien, you told me that you thought that you survived, maybe because I, um Jean Beazley, was going to be in your life one day. What do you think? Could that be true?” Jean asked him. “Well Jeannie, a very interesting idea. Did you have a cardiac event back then as I was winking out?” Lucien asked her, with a rapidly developing mischievous grin on his face. Jean reached up to his shoulder and punched him. “Ow, you struck me, on my wound,” he said as he pulled her towards him, kissed her passionately, and then realized that a crowd had assembled around the bed. 

Besides Gus, Jean, Diane and Aaron who were close to his bed, Richard, Hugh, Matthew, Alice, and Rose were all standing at the end of the bed. “When did all of you come in? Guess I was distracted with my shoulder, talking to Gus, holding Jeannie, um, I am better now. Well, you all were not supposed to see that last um kiss, but you did. Tell no tales on Jean and me, alright?” Lucien told them, beginning to turn a bit red around the ears.

“Lucien, you didn’t yell or scream, didn’t wake anyone up this morning. Gus, Diane, Jean and Aaron – thank you once again for being with Lucien. Helping him. Defusing him,” Richard told them all. “And welcome to the Ballarat contingent. Glad you are here safe and sound,” Hugh told them.

As Lucien hugged Jean, he grinned at Gus, Diane, and Aaron. “Well, Blake that was quite a tale. Did you get it down Aaron?” Gus told him. “Yes, sir, I have it written down. Will rewrite it and clean up my handwriting for the investigative team,” Aaron told the group. 

“Blake, can I look at your shoulder, perhaps remove the wound packing?” Gus asked. “Um yes, no need for that now. Did help me remember what happened, did not yell and scream. Once again, you snookered me Gus. I fell into one of your ‘traps,’ didn’t I? – hook, line and sinker,” Lucien told his friend. “You seem pretty gullible right now. I will try almost anything in my repertoire, as long as I can help you. I am going to take the cold compresses from your ‘wound’ and pack your neck,” Gus said, as he grinned at him. “Thank you, Gus,” Lucien told him. “Any time, my good friend.”

Aaron was still sitting on the edge of the bed talking with Gus when Matthew walked up. “Aaron, do you know Matthew Lawson?” Gus asked him. “Not officially. Heard a lot of very positive things about the Ballarat contingent from everyone on the floor. Matthew, I am Aaron Gage, the chap who got cold cocked last week,” Aaron said as he shook Matthew’s hand. “Head any better yet?” “Well, some days are better than others. But I do like the early morning Lucien duty. Makes me feel useful. Otherwise I just sit around twiddling my thumbs the rest of the day,” Aaron told him with a grin as well as looking at Lucien. “Yes, Matthew, Aaron helps keep Gus away from me, well except this morning, when I got the full Gus treatment and attention,” Lucien said with a grin. 

Alice began talking with Jean and Lucien. “Alice, it is so good to see you and Matthew. You walked into the tail end of a typical Lucien morning. Memories are being processed now all night long and exit in the morning. But I think this morning was his best at working through one and not getting frightened out of his mind,” Jean told her. “Yes, Alice, I was very well behaved this morning, for me. Gus has helped me in ways I would never have predicted,” Lucien told her.

Then Alice walked up to Aaron, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed to introduce herself. “Aaron, I am Alice Harvey. I know we have not formally met, but Bill Hobart and I have researched your identity for the investigative team. You look very much like your pictures in the files we accessed. I understand you are helping out in the mornings,” Alice told him. “Yes, Dr. Harvey, I am Aaron Gage. Not only have I been helping Lucien and Jean in the mornings, I have been eating meals with them. I am feeling better, finding myself bored most of the time, but know full well, I have one heck of a concussion. My neck is becoming a rainbow of colors. Anyone sees me without sunglasses or cold compresses, immediately remedies the situation,” Aaron told her. 

“Do you always help Jean and Lucien while dressed so informally?” Alice asked him, with a smile. “In the mornings, I do. Depends when Lucien starts acting out. Later in the day, I have clothes on,” Aaron told her with a grin. “I would hope so, young man,” Alice said with some sarcasm in her voice. Lucien grinned at Aaron, shrugged his shoulders. “Alice, I am not dressed much better than Aaron is. Are you going to tell me to get dressed as well?” Lucien asked her, chuckling as he finished his question. “I still need to talk with you as well,” Alice told him, smirking a bit.

Gus walked over to the two of them. “Alice, do you want to see what a near miss looks like? Our boy Aaron is one fortunate bloke. Can we take a peek at your neck, Aaron?” “Yes, Gus. But please be gentle,” Aaron told him. As Alice observed the bruise, she gasped, looked at Gus, carefully placed her hand on Aaron’s bruise, and said, “My goodness, Aaron, you have such a nasty injury, will take weeks to dissipate I am afraid. You know the drill, keep it packed, rest your neck, take it easy. I understand you will be with us in Ballarat later this month. We have plenty of room either at the house or Jean’s Place. I know you will enjoy your time with us,” Alice told him. “What is Jean’s Place? First I have heard of it,” Aaron asked. “A cabin, about 20 minutes out of town, all of the Blake household and family enjoy it. Ask Lucien’s support group who are coming tomorrow to tell you about it,” Alice told him. “I will, Alice.”

Before Diane went off shift, she ordered breakfast meals for everyone, updated Carol on the morning happenings, and showed Carol a list of items she would purchase for the party tomorrow. Carol rolled the food trays into Lucien’s room and the food smell acted as a beacon, with several more Blake friends showing up – Danny, Charlie, and Bill. 

“Morning everyone. Suitcases delivered. Here is the key to the Suite, Boss. Jean, here is your suitcase. I will put it near your bed. Carol, any chance of breakfast?” Charlie asked. “Certainly. Diane ordered in a good deal of food for this morning. She did a pretty good head count for all of us.”

“Did Joseph come back you?” Jean asked. “Yes, he did. Barely got in hospital and his office paged him. Hopefully he will be here for the 9 AM meeting this morning,” Alice told her. “Sit with me Alice and lets chat some before the meeting.” “Yes, Jean, I have some more patient numbers to give you for your report.”

“Matthew, tell me about your trip this morning to the big city. What is going on at home?” Lucien asked his friend. They quickly settled into conversation, as if they had not been apart for so long. Aaron introduced himself to Rose and they began to talk, eat breakfast and get to know each other. “Rose, um you are dressed like you are going on an adventure. Is this your normal attire?” Aaron asked her. “No, Aaron, it isn’t. I am going to help Bill this morning on a bank escapade that Uncle Matthew has planned for us. I will tell you all about it later. Mum’s the word right now.” Rose explained, but in reality just piqued his interest even more in her and her morning plans.

Alice walked up to Lucien’s bedside and asked how he was this morning. “Well Alice, another interesting morning, trying to figure out my life, what happened before, being absolutely clueless – once again. And then, the episode slips into place and I understand it. Gus and Jean helped me in the early morning hours, along with several others, as you well know,” Lucien told her. 

“Now, Dr. Blake, what is with your hair? Did you forget to comb it, put hair cream on it? Do you remember Clark gave you a container of it last week?” Alice asked him, as she ran her hand over his head. “Alice, not seeing patients, not the police surgeon, no need to dress up, get into a suit, not going to slick my hair down, just letting it go ‘wild’ again. Like it was when I arrived here,” Lucien tried to explain, smiling at her. “What do you think Little Blake is going to say to you when he sees you? He asks Mattie or Joseph to help him comb his hair just like you do. Started doing that when you disappeared. I imagine you did not know that, did you?” Alice told him. “Alice, I didn’t have any idea. My goodness.” “Lucien, we all missed you terribly, each in our own way. I think it was the most extreme for Jean and Little Blake. It was quite a struggle for both of them,” Alice told him, touching his hand. 

About 9 AM, Jean, Alice, and Lucien walked down the hallway for the POW Grant Meeting. Lucien was dressed informally, in shorts and a shirt, and used his crutches. Jean had on her new outfit she bought on Monday morning. Alice and Jean carried their satchels of grant information and walked with purpose down the hallway. Once they were in the room, James, Hugh, Richard, and Joseph joined them. Joseph walked up to Jean and gave her a big hug, kissed her cheek. 

Lucien asked if he could speak first, that he had some remarks to share with them and then he was leaving to work with Gus and Carol on his therapy. He swallowed, looked at each person in the room, and then began, “I need to thank all of you, for so much, for giving me back my life – for figuring out who I was when a smelly homeless man with a bum knee showed up unannounced last Friday night, for taking care of me this week, through the good days and the terror filled nights and mornings, for continuing the grant, for including me on the publications, for taking care of my love – Jean, for for, and um –“ He broke down, tears flowed. “Thank you ever so much.”

The group of physicians surrounded him, hugged their Major, told him that they owed him a great deal for saving their lives, and were still paying him back from the war. “Major, we will get you through this, we will. That is our promise to you and to Jean,” James told him. Gus was standing at the doorway, listening, and said, “Blake, let me help you back to your room. Carol and I have planned some torture for you this morning,” he said with a grin, lightening up the charged atmosphere in the room. “Yes, I imagine you do Gus. Let’s go before I start really sobbing,” Lucien told him, as he reached for Jean to kiss her.

Carol met Gus and Lucien on their return to the room. “Ready to work for me, Lucien?” “Yes, Carol, let’s get this underway,” Lucien told her. She helped him take his shirt off, put lotion on his back and then moved on to his upper back and neck, doing a variety of stretches. Gus began to work with Lucien’s knee, measuring the size of it, feeling it, causing Lucien to get very fidgety, anxious. “What are you doing to me, Gus? This hurts. Feels different than yesterday’s therapy session,” Lucien told him. “I want to see how your knee is doing, because I want to introduce you to aquatic therapy very soon. I think your leg and you will appreciate time in a warm water tank. I figure your entire body will unwind, relax and heal faster,” Gus explained to him. 

Once Carol was finished with his neck, she packed it in cold compresses. Then, much to Lucien’s surprise, Gus began to work with his legs and knees. “Gus, what are you doing? I like the way Carol did this yesterday,” Lucien told them, with some anxiety in his voice. “Blake, relax for me, alright? I am not going to hurt you too much, give me the benefit of the doubt, alright?” Gus told him. Carol got Lucien to lay back on the pillow, close his eyes, placed a cold compress over his eyes, and talked to him. “Doing better?” “Yes, Carol. Will you hold my hand? Please.” “You bet.” 

Gus finished with what he wanted to do with the swollen knee, and his leg muscles. He then packed the knee with cold compresses and wrapped the leg in compression bandage. Next was to return the brace to his swollen knee, prop up the leg on several pillows. While Gus worked, Lucien fell asleep. Gus and Carol could tell he was out like a light, entire body relaxed, anxiety draining away. They talked about the stimulation to his system this morning – processing the memories, Ballarat folks coming, the grant meeting, the therapy session – it was all a bit much for Lucien. “We need to keep in mind that Blake was a force of nature before he disappeared, but now, well he needs time to heal, to recuperate, to sleep,” Gus told her. 

“Carol, I have to move along this morning. I have several consults to do, post op visits, must check into the office, but I will be back later this afternoon. Page me if you need me for either Lucien or Aaron,” Gus told her. “Will do Gus. Aaron is taking a nap as well. Packed his neck again before he laid down. Did not take him long to fall asleep either. Will you want lunch up here with the group?” Carol asked. “No, don’t think so. Thanks for asking though.”

Meanwhile, the Grant Meeting was underway with specific details about medical reports, patient numbers, group session numbers, and overall impressions of the medical team of their practices, possible adjustments that needed to me made. Then Jean updated them about the paper she was writing on the development of the group sessions in Ballarat. She highlighted the two sessions for the POWs and then the one for the wives, older children and friends of the POWs. Richard and Joseph said they would take the draft and continue working on it. Next meeting, they would bring their draft for a final workover by Jean. “I think that should give us a paper that we are ready to submit,” Jean told them. “Jean, I wanted to thank you for all of your grant work this week – and under very trying conditions,” Hugh told her. Jean smiled at Hugh, and then looked at each of the physicians in the room, and said, “I needed a diversion this week, I was able to update Lucien on our work, and um I am so terribly proud of what we are doing here, can’t disappoint you folks or myself. “

While the Grant meeting was ongoing, Matthew, Danny, Charlie, Bill and Rose met to plan their approach to retrieving the contents of Lucien’s bank box. Matthew began, “Here is my plan. Let’s see what you think of this. Bill and Rose are going to be our couriers. We three talked last night at length about this. I found Lucien’s Power of Attorney for either me or Jean to have access to his bank accounts. I have my identification – and also my pistol if needed. Danny and Charlie have the key to the bank box and will give it to me. Bill, Rose and I will enter the bank, get signed in. We will enter the vault, quickly empty the contents of Lucien’s box into this sack – as he showed it to them – and then the two of them will walk out. Bill will carry the sack under his clothing. I will stay in the lobby when they leave to see who looks ‘guilty.’”

Charlie added, ”All of the doors will be watched by Melbourne police, and there will be some plain clothes detectives inside as well. If anyone tries to bolt, we nab them. Will also have a staging area in the Oriental Medicine Shop with several police there as well. Bill and Rose will move to an unmarked car as soon as they are out the door and we will drive them back here, escort them up to our suite. We will look at the contents this afternoon when we meet. Police surveillance will continue on the bank and the Oriental Medicine shop for the next few days.”

Charlie dropped the trio off about a block away from the bank. Then drove the car to the back of the Oriental Medicine shop and parked it. Danny drove a second car and parked it in front of the bank but he did not enter the bank. Matthew, Bill and Rose walked into the bank and executed their plan to perfection. When Bill and Rose exited, they immediately got into the car driven by Danny and disappeared into the back seat. Danny was away very quickly and headed towards hospital and disappeared into the A&E entrance, then he drove the car away, having dropped Bill and Rose off. They melted into the crowd of patients, physicians and nurses in the hallway. A freight elevator was waiting for them, manned by a couple of Melbourne policemen. They walked into the POW wing and quickly disappeared into one of the side rooms and promptly shut the door. 

No one in the bank made a move – towards a telephone, leaving the building, turning a light off or on – at first. Then no more than a minute after Bill and Rose left the bank, a female bank employee left the teller area, headed for the back entrance and was stopped. She was whisked away by plain clothes police. Matthew walked out of the bank, along the sidewalk, away from the bank and turned to watch if anyone else was bolting from the bank. After nearly 30 minutes, Charlie drove by in the car, picked him up and they drove away in the opposite direction from the hospital. No one was detected hanging around the bank or the Oriental Medicine shop while the operation was underway.

As the POW meeting wrapped up, Alice pulled James and Hugh aside to talk with them about the medical conditions of Lucien and Jean. “Where are we on the cardiac checks on these two?” James began first, “I will be doing one more EKG on Lucien tomorrow, Saturday morning the 12th. That will be one week since the first episode. If he is still stable, I will put the next one off until one week later.” “I will check Jean on Saturday afternoon, and if she is stable, then I agree we delay her next EKG until the 19th of December.”

Alice also asked about Aaron. “I understand that Aaron will be staying with us in Ballarat over the holidays. Who will be in charge of his care?” Hugh answered her, “While we are in Ballarat, James and I will provide medical care both Lucien and Aaron. Gus and Richard will be there some of the time as well. Of course, Joseph, Mattie and the kids will be in and out.” James asked, “Alice, would you cover the boys on the other days?” “How are you all coordinating their care now? So many physicians. Who is making the decisions? Never worked like this before,” Alice told them. “Alice, we help each other, write extensive notes, and talk several times a day. It works,” Richard told her. “Obviously it does. They are both recovering. And yes I will help in Ballarat,” Alice told them.

After the grant meeting and Lucien’s therapy, Jean, Alice, Richard and Lucien sat in his hospital room, eating lunch, chatting about the meeting, what needed to be completed. Noticing the suitcase near Jean’s bed, Lucien asked, “Jean, do I have swim trunks in that suitcase? Gus told me I get to start with aquatic therapy on Monday,” Lucien said. “Yes, you should. They were on the list we gave Rose. Let me unpack the suitcase for us. Jean hung some clothing in the wardrobe, placed other pieces in the dresser, and handed Lucien his journal and pen and his swim trunks. 

“Jean, it is my journal, that Joseph gave me and your pen. You found it for me,” Lucien told Jean with a grin, almost a giddy sound to his voice. Richard looked at him, “Major, do you remember how we handled your journal, talked almost weekly, before you disappeared?” “Um, well, now that you have reminded me, I do. Joseph and I started writing, and um I began to come to grips with the war experiences. Should I start writing again? Richard, what do you think?” Lucien asked him. “Major, I will help you each step of the way. You write when you feel like it. Tell me about what you have written and we will unpack it. You must talk to me – we can’t make any progress unless you work with me. Lucien you cannot do this alone,” Richard told him. 

“Lucien, remember that the Blake household helps each other, to make each day better for each member. That’s the way our household operates, and I sense the same atmosphere here on this floor, in this room. We help each other, we ask for help, we offer help. None of us would have made it through your absence without the entire household pitching in, each and every day,” Alice told him, reaching to hold Lucien and Jean’s hands. “Well done, Alice,” Richard told her as he placed his arm around Jean’s shoulder, pulled her close to him. 

The group in Lucien’s room detected a commotion in the hallway, then heard Bill and Rose talking about their bank caper. Then Matthew, Charlie, and Danny’s voices joined in. “Carol, any lunch for us? We all really worked hard this morning,” Danny asked. “Did you do it? Rose are you alright?” Aaron said as he walked down the hall towards Lucien’s room. “Yes, we did and we all are hungry. Are you going to eat with us, Aaron?” Rose asked. “Hey you lot, what did all of you do?” Lucien asked. “Come in here and tell us, now!”


	24. Passports

Ch 24 Passports

From the hallway outside of the room, the group heard Lucien’s question – “Hey you lot, what did all of you do? Come in here and tell us, now!” The group trouped into the room, with a bit of a swagger, full of themselves. Matthew said, “Well, Blake, we went to the bank, got into your bank box and have the contents right here.” Charlie dangled the sack in front of everyone’s eyes. “Going to look at it during the meeting this afternoon, Boss. Do you want to attend the meeting?” “Yes, of course I do. That is the key that I gave Paul, right?” Lucien asked. ‘Yes it is, Doc. You handed it to him on Monday the 30 th of November and he returned it to you on Wednesday afternoon.” “Yes. And, I think I know what I put in there. There should be a pistol, a passport, and another key. Can’t tell you who they belong to or when I put them there, or how I kept track of the key, just haven’t figured that out yet,” Lucien said.

“And everyone, I have my journal. My journal! Jean kept it safe for me. Do you remember that Joseph gave it to me? Let me read you his dedication:

_For Lucien R. Blake, For centering my life, Once again – Thanks are not enough. Joseph McCann_

Richard said I should start writing again. So I may be asking you all to help me with specific details that I cannot remember. All of you need to make certain I write, every day. Don’t let me have any excuses, alright? And you know, I read my last entry of September 25, 1962. That was 18 months since Jeannie and I were wed on March 25, 1961. Then we went on our honeymoon, much to show her, so happy,” Lucien said, as tears gathered in his eyes. He reached for Jean, to hold her hand, kiss her. “Um, then ah the next day, I disappeared. Bloody Hell. Hurt my love so much, I know that, Jeannie, I can feel it, I can sense it. How can you ever forgive me?"

As Lucien wiped his eyes, looked at the extended Blake family populating his hospital room, he spotted the newest member, Aaron, standing by the end of his bed, beginning to look poorly. He looked a bit off color, maybe even ‘green around the gills,’ perhaps a bit nauseated. “Danny and Charlie, put Aaron in the wheelchair before he collapses.” Richard, Alice and Carol were immediately at his side and they rolled Aaron to his room. Danny grabbed a basin to put in his lap if he needed to upchuck. As Carol entered the room, she barked orders to Danny and Charlie as they helped him into bed. She already had a variety of medications in the room, and asked Richard if an anti-nausea, IV, cold packs, were his orders. “Spot on, Carol. Let’s get those underway quickly,” Richard told her. While Carol and Richard handled the medications, Alice looked at Aaron and put cold packs around his neck, over his eyes, found some noise damping ear plugs for his ears, held his hand. “Aaron, Alice here. Try to relax and let us help you.” “Yes, Alice, too much excitement, too much noise this morning, so loud at lunch,” Aaron told her.

“Yes, Aaron, I agree, what just happened is a not so subtle reminder of your severe head injury,” Alice told him. “I will dim the lights. Richard, Danny and Charlie are off to the meeting. I will stay with you, I am your physician this afternoon, I am here until I am satisfied you are stable. Anyway I need to read your chart notes, check labs, x-rays on you now that I have added you to my list – well in Ballarat at least.” “Alice, um I will just lie here, you can leave, go to the meeting. I will call Carol if I need some help,” Aaron told her.

“Aaron, I thought I just explained to you, I am here until I think you are stable. Stop practicing medicine from your hospital bed, young man.” “Ah, yes ma’am, um sorry, Yes, Doctor Harvey, my apologies for questioning your authority,” Aaron told her. “Apology accepted, Dr. Gage,” as Alice put her hand on his wrist to check his pulse. Aaron felt for her hand and then placed his over hers. “Thank you for staying with me. Don’t feel very good right now.” Alice was taken aback, surprised the young physician sought out her help. She let him hold her hand until he fell asleep.

Carol entered the room and found Alice reading Aaron’s chart, taking notes. Richard had added a small dose of sedative to the anti-nausea medication and Aaron was resting. “Alice, are you are staying here for a while? I have a couple of things to do for tonight for the room we are preparing for Lucien and Jean. Should not take more than 15 minutes. Joseph brought Lucien’s ‘uptown’ dressing gown and sleeping trousers from Ballarat and gave them to me. Jean purchased a new nightie and some candy on Monday and I know where those two items are. Joseph also dropped off a package before he went to the POW meeting this morning – for both of them. Going to place it all in the room they are going to use tonight. It is just next to the nurse’s station,” Carol told her. 

“Take your time. Aaron is asleep. Carol, I appreciated your organization of medication in this room for Aaron. Made our triage very effective. We need to remind Aaron, he is not well, he is not ready to ‘play’ with the rest of us. Well, for that matter, neither is Lucien. I think Richard is giving him one hour in the meeting and he is back here for a nap, will probably be complaining loudly. If I need to help him calm down, I will,” Alice said.

The group in Lucien’s room walked to the room with the blackboard for their investigative caucus. They were joined by James and Hugh. They were all sitting around an oblong table which was filled with folders of information, photographs, passports, evidence in plastic bags, notebooks, almost everything they had discovered since last Saturday was displayed. Before James started the discussion, Richard spoke first. “Major, you can stay here with us for 60 minutes max and you will be returned to your room for an afternoon nap. There will be absolutely no arguing him me, none at all. Do you understand?” Richard told him, without a smile. This had to be the first time Richard had ever ordered his Major to do anything. Lucien looked at him, realizing he really did mean this order. “Yes, Richard, I understand, I do.” Jean looked at Richard and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’ 

James began the meeting with an update on Robert Hannam’s condition. “Hugh and I wanted to let you know where we are with Hannam. His malaria is apparently refractive to current therapies. We have been in touch with the Institutes for Tropical Medicine in Sydney, London, and Saigon for suggestions and ideas for his treatment. So far, his fever is still high, organs are limping along, still unconscious, his prognosis is fairly bleak at this point,” James concluded. 

Hugh added his impressions next, “I have talked to our tropical medical doctors, including Aaron, and their repertoires are in line with what we were told from the Institute folks. Major, I am ready to talk to your friends at the Oriental Medical Shop. Ready to try non-Western. What do you think?” “Of course, talk with them. But, I would be thinking a blend of the two systems. As I remember them, Paul and his father are quite talented practitioners. Hugh, why don’t you call Paul and ask him to come and visit me and we three can talk shop?” Lucien told him. 

“Alright, Hugh and I need to get back to our offices. Will see you three – Matthew, Alice and Rose for dinner tonight. We’ll go to our favorite Italian place near the hospital. Leave the floor about 6:00 or so. Hugh is going early to pick up food for Jean and Lucien ahead of that. Richard will join us for dinner. Gus will be here on the floor to cover the medical needs of Aaron and Lucien. We will need a couple of security with us and someone to stay and eat with Aaron, be on the floor with Jean and Lucien. You fellows figure it out,” as James told everyone the dinner plans. Lucien looked at Hugh, smiled, and then said, “So Jean and I get non-hospital food tonight. Hugh, remember I asked for a bottle of wine, candles, flowers for my gal as well.” ‘Yes Major I remember. And not eat off of a tray, right? Will have it all for you and Jean.” James and Hugh walked out the door leaving the rest of them to start grinding over the evidence, clues they had collected in the week since Lucien appeared on their doorstep.

“Where do we start?” Matthew asked. Rose spoke up very quickly and said, “We start at the beginning. When Lucien disappeared. I have a couple of new pieces of information to share. First of all, both Bill and I have questions about old man Henderson’s interview. He was very evasive to both of us, to me in September 1962 and to Bill on Monday the 7th. We need to follow up on this. I think Bill will be on it when he is back in Ballarat. Jean, you know of him right?”

“Yes, Rose, he lives outside of Ballarat, runs sheep, has loading docks and such. Very reclusive. Does not surprise me he did not tell you anything. You might talk to his step son who lives in Bendigo. His last name is not Henderson, let me think a minute about what it is,” Jean told her. 

Rose continued, “Well, Jean, I was in Bendigo yesterday collecting information on another story when a man approached me. Asked if I worked for the _Courier_ , said he remembered something from September 1962 that he thought I should know. Recently talked to his father and that conversation triggered his thinking about this earlier time frame. I asked him if I showed him some pictures, if he could tell me if any of them were in town then. Before he left last week, Bill gave me pictures of Lucien, Hannam, Mystery Man, and Aaron to use if I thought it might help in our investigation. I showed him Hannam – a definite yes, that was one of them, Aaron – not him, Lucien – not him, told me he was the guy who disappeared, and then the mystery man – and he said yes to him as well.” The guy then told me, “There was another guy, a third guy. Do you have his picture?” he asked me. “No, I don’t but I will try to get one of him,” I told him. “Bill, I have his contact information. We need to go back up there and talk with him, again,” Rose said.

“So, do I believe him? Don’t know. Need to verify who he is, figure out why he sat on the information for so long. After all, we ran stories for several weeks about Lucien’s disappearance, and then again every six months or so since he has been gone. If he is truthful, then we have possible identifications of two of the three people involved in his disappearance,” Rose explained.

“Rose, is his name Jake Middleton? That is the name of Henderson’s step son,” Jean asked. “Oh my goodness, Jean. It is the man I talked with. It is!” Rose nearly shouted her reply. 

“Rose, Hannam is nearly dead, Mystery Man won’t talk to us, and third guy – who knows who he is? Where he is? We can add this possible sighting in Bendigo by the group planning Lucien’s abduction in the week ahead of his disappearance. That backs us up a week or so,” Bill said, as he added the notes to the board. He listed: Two nameless men and Hannam, week of September 17, 1962. 

Lucien asked, “Let’s look at that passport Paul gave us on Wednesday. See if there are any clues with it. What name is on it?” Danny picked it up and read the name to the group – “George Linemann from the passport. We are checking the passport in the records to see if there are other aliases. He arrived in Sydney on August 29, 1962 and he never left Australia, at least on this passport. The passport does not expire until next month. Previous travel includes Cambodia and South Viet Nam. I will check if there are any fingerprints associated with the name. Doc, where did you get this? Who is he?“ “Danny, not a clue, for either of your questions,” Lucien said shaking his head. 

Then Charlie asked, “Boss, how many people abducted you? Do you remember? Any ideas where they grabbed you?” Running his hands through his curly hair, Lucien said “Charlie, I just don’t know. Nothing comes to mind. Not much help today am I?” Jean entered the conversation, “You lot, remember Lucien disappeared on Sept. 26, 1962. If this guy was involved, perhaps we show Middleton the passport photo and ask him if he is the third guy. What do you think of that idea?” “Of course, Jean, if you are right, this would give us the trio that Middleton was telling Rose about,” Matthew told her. 

Richard looked at Lucien and said, “Major, you have 20 more minutes here, and then off to take your nap. What do you want to look at?” “We should do all of the passports together, but don’t think 20 minutes is enough time. So, let me look at the small notepads that Hamman and I carried with us. I looked at his earlier, figure it has the drug regimen encoded in it, can’t for the life of me crack the code. I have tried. Need to work with it some more. Now, I want to see mine. Richard handed him the second small notepad. Lucien opened it up and his jaw dropped. “What Major? What is wrong?” Richard asked. “Um, well, let me figure out how to say this. It is my writing, no doubt about that – but, but why is a mixture of French, Chinese, code, numbers, with very little English? What was I doing here? All of the notes are that way. What on earth possessed me to do it that way? Why? And I gave this to Paul just last week right?” Lucien finished, as he scratched his head, stared at it some more. “I don’t know, I need to take this with me, go through it page by page. There has to be a reason, a clue to open this up to me,” Lucien softly said. “Maybe there is a relationship between the two notepads. Let me have Hannam’s again as well.” “Blake, let Alice look at these notepads with you. She might be able to spot something to help you get started on them,” Matthew said. “Of course, Yes, Matthew, I will.”

“Major, your time is up. You need to leave us and rest,” Richard told him, knowing he would get some kick back. “Richard, no, not yet. No!” Lucien said very loudly. Richard looked at him, stared him down, did not say another word. “Um, yes, no arguing, well Bloody Hell, but I want you to know, it is not right,” Lucien told him, his voice taking on an angry tone. Alice walked up to him, put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Into the wheelchair, Lucien, let’s go, now.” She whispered in his ear, “Don’t go there, Lucien. Just don’t. Back down. Do you hear me, my good friend?” “Um Yes, yes, of course, Alice, you are right,” Lucien quietly answered her.

Carol and Alice rolled him to the room, helped him into bed. “Lucien, would you like your ears cleaned and new drops added?” Alice asked him. “Yes, that would be good and my back is itching, again.” Carol reached for the lotion and said, “Lotion is my job. Let me get started.” Once those two tasks were completed, they packed his neck, had him lay down and took the knee brace off his leg, packed his knee, elevated his leg on some pillows, dimmed the lights. “If I find you are still awake in 15 minutes, I will help you get some sleep,” Alice told him. “Bloody Hell, Alice,” Lucien spit out. “And, you Dr. Blake need to rest. You are not well, won’t be for weeks. Don’t slow your recovery down, alright?” Alice told him. “Yes, alright, but but –“ Lucien sputtered to a halt.

As Lucien looked at Alice, he knew she was not going to change her mind. She is as bad as Richard. Well, they probably are right. I am tired, trying to hide it, but I do want to feel well enough to be with my love this evening. I have so much to tell her, make certain she does not leave me. Lucien let out a loud moan, as he settled down. Alice simply stared at him. “I know what you are thinking, Lucien Blake, ‘woe is me, poor me. Such nasty treatment from your medical team,’ right?” Lucien did not answer her, simply smiled at her, lifted an eyebrow and shook his head.

After Lucien left the room, everyone got up, stretched, got some tea and biscuits and returned to their seats. “Passports are next,” Matthew said. “Some of this will be review but want to get us all on the same page. Blake’s passports are three in number. First one is a Military passport, traveled back to Australia on it arriving on November 9, 1964 from Cambodia, where he spent the previous six months. Other countries with entrance/exit stamps include Singapore, South Viet Nam, Hong Kong and Thailand. He has been traveling on it since February, 1963. Second passport is Irish and was used to enter and leave New Zealand, twice. The last one is Australian and he traveled to Manila on it. All three photos are the same but three different names. He was discharged, with the rank of Colonel, from the Australian Army on November 13, and arrived in Melbourne about the 20th, found on the street near hospital late the night of December 4.”

Charlie picked up Robert Hannam’s passports. “The travel on Hannam’s military passport is the same as Lucien’s. Of course the photo is of Hannam on all three, with three different names. A second passport is German and he traveled to Manila on it. Third one is French and he entered and exited New Zealand, twice. Arrived in Melbourne November 20 and on December 7 found in Melbourne in that disgusting, smelly vacant building he and Lucien were staying rough. No evidence of anyone else was staying there. And, no one has tried to enter the building since we cleaned it out,” he told the group.

“The next passport is a single one that the Doc gave to Paul on November 30th. We briefly talked about it before Lucien left the room. The name on it is George Linemann. He is not the mystery man, may be the guy hanging around the bank and Oriental Medicine shop, but we are not certain about that. Danny is running the name in the data bases; there may be as many as three more aliases. Still waiting for possible fingerprint files on record. He arrived in Sydney on August 29, 1962 and he never left Australia, at least on this passport. The passport does not expire until next month. Previous travel includes Cambodia and South Viet Nam. 

“The last passport is from the bank box this morning. This passport is for Boris Green and is still current. He returned to Australia on November 20, 1964 to Sydney. He has traveled previously to Cambodia on this passport. The picture looks a good deal like our Mystery Man to me,” Matthew said. Bill pulled out the picture of the Mystery Man they had from last Saturday. Comparing a large photo and a small passport photo was somewhat difficult, but all agreed it certainly looked the same to them. 

Jean spoke up, “Tell me all of the names that the fingerprints of the Mystery Man generated.” Danny listed four names: Jonas Holman, Mark Pearce, Boris Green, and Mick Young. Then they all shouted out – “Look at this! Just look! The passport and one of the aliases match. _Boris Green_.” “Matthew, what does this mean? Is this a clue to who he is or could this just be a coincidence?” Jean asked. “I think we have a very strong linkage here, maybe our first name we can assign to him,” Matthew replied. Jean continued asking questions, “But why on earth does Lucien have his passport, the one he used just a couple of weeks ago to enter Australia? How did he get it? Is this why the guy is after Lucien?” “Jean, yes I think it is a distinct possibility,” Matthew told Jean.

Charlie took the lead on the discussion of the new key. “Now the key. Looks different than a bank box key, but I guess it could be. So many banks in town, could be difficult to find the correct one. But, let’s think more broadly. Perhaps it is a key to a locker – in the bus terminal, the railroad depot, the airport. It has a two digit number on it. Let’s figure out a plan to see what the various keys look like and then, with police protection of course, go and get whatever is in the locker. Maybe the mystery man’s gear will be there?” Bill broke into the conversation at this point. “Other places have lockers, like boat ramps, gyms, swimming pools. Let’s hope it is simple to locate or we could be running around chasing our tails for weeks.”

“We still need to figure out Lucien and the Mystery Man’s relationship. And what about Hannam? How does he fit into this group? Did Hannam and Lucien give this guy the slip and return to Australia before he knew what they were doing?” Richard finished telling the group. 

Bill replied, “Excellent ideas, Richard, and I have jotted them down and Danny and Charlie and I will figure out a plan. Now the one item remaining from the Doc’s bank box is the pistol. Of course, we need to see if the pistol has fingerprints on it, or has been wiped clean. It has not been fired in quite a while. Do you think this is another one of the Doc’s pistols? Or maybe Hannam’s? Or the Mystery Man’s? Why put it in the bank and the other pistols we found were in the duffel bags?” Danny asked. 

“All good questions and suggestions, Danny. My first response is the pistol and the passport belong to the same person – Boris Green, whoever he is,” Matthew said to the group. “Now we need to relate this all to the dossier that Bill and I found in the Ballarat police station. In particular, how does this anything we talked about today connect to Bao Cheng and Victor Gennardy?” “Matthew, none of the aliases and passports use these names do they? Is there any way to connect their killings to what is going on now?” Jean asked. “We are plowing new territory here, with all of this information to process, Jean. I don’t know.” “Oh, and Matthew, when was the bank box opened? Did Lucien have his name on it only?” Jean asked. 

Richard looked at Jean and smiled. “What Richard?” “Jean, nothing, just thinking that you really are smarter than the Major, did you know that? All good ideas. Rose are you writing down all of these questions?” “You bet, Richard. We have a good deal more to chase down based on today’s conversation. And I propose that the newspaper articles and pictures that Bill and I are working on should be postponed until we deal with all of the new items today are addressed. Agreed?” Rose asked the group. 

“Just one more item to add to the timeline. Let’s put the Mystery Man aka Boris Green as arriving back in Melbourne on November 20 th. And I suggest that Danny, Bill and I troubleshoot the timeline over the weekend, clean it up, list all of our questions,” Charlie added. 

By 5:45, Aaron was awake and talking with Bill and Diane. Bill told Aaron, “I will be eating dinner with you this evening, spending time in your room. I have several newspaper articles to read and I will not bother you. At least that is my intention.” “Bill, I may not say much, but having someone nearby – well thank you ever so much.” Alice and Matthew walked in before they left with the group for supper. “Boss, you and Dr. Harvey look very sharp this evening. Looks like you are going out on the town,” Bill told them, with a grin on his face. Then Gus walked into the room. “Alice, you and Matthew enjoy the evening. I got Aaron covered until you folks are back. Evening, Aaron,” Gus said. “Yes, Gus thank you for being with me this evening. I appreciate it. Alice and Matthew, go, enjoy. See you later, if I am still awake,” Aaron told them, wishing he felt well enough to go, but knowing full well, that was not the case. 

“Diane, what’s for dinner for the four of us?” Gus asked. “I have full meals for three of us and Alice ordered soft foods, soups for Aaron,” Diane answered. “Let me ask you something Aaron. Alice appears to be a no nonsense physician. Is she?” Gus asked. “Gus, I needed that approach this afternoon. But, she is also caring, compassionate, thoughtful. I am glad she is going to help me when I am in Ballarat,” Aaron said. “Bill, what do you think of Alice?” “Gus, I have worked with her as the Police Surgeon. She is focused on the case, wants answers just like the Doc. Won’t let up until everything makes sense. Never needed her as a physician, but if I did, no hesitation on my part,” Bill answered. “Exactly what my impressions of her have been the last few months,” Gus told them. 

“Aaron, what about tomorrow morning? I know you want to help with the setup,” Diane asked. “Alice found me some noise dampening ear plugs this afternoon. I think if I have them and stay in a wheelchair, I will be alright. At least that is my plan. What do you think?” “Let’s try it. If you don’t feel well, let me know, alright?” Gus told him. “Yes, Gus, of course I will,” Aaron replied.

Lucien was out of bed and dressed by 5:45. Jean helped him pick out a smart shirt and shorts to wear for their ‘dinner date.’ “Carol told me they have a room for us near the nurse’s station, have out nightclothes there, table all set, and Hugh will be here shortly with our dinner. Lucien, um I am getting a little bit nervous about all of this. Are you?” Jean asked him, with a smile, but she knew her smile felt a bit forced. “Well, my Jeannie, truth be told, I am as well. I feel like I did when we discovered each other in Melbourne, in the hotel room. I remember, I asked you – ‘What are we going to do, Jean? _Us_ – this is not what I expected. I do not want to mess this up. What do we do?’” Lucien told her as he reached to kiss her. “Very nervous, on top of a bum knee, don’t know um if well can barely say what I am thinking. I will need some time, yes, some time to figure out, to remember.”

“And we have time, Lucien, my love. We will eat our fancy dinner, drink our wine, and talk. See what develops. But you know, that room is ours, every night until you are released. We do not have sleep apart again, well, unless you want to,” Jean told him, reaching for his hand to kiss. “And just who told you this?” “I asked James about it earlier today. He agreed, as long as you follow orders, don’t argue with your medical team, continue to improve. He knows how much I want out of that dinky little bed over there in the corner,” Jean told him, pointing towards the bed. “So tired of sleeping by myself, night after night. My love, it has been so long. You know this morning you asked me if I could ever forgive you for disappearing? We both have to move on beyond that, we must, for our own sakes as well as _Us_ – yes, the two of us as a couple. Lucien we are one, and have been for years. That is the one idea, the anchor that kept me centered while you were gone – _We Are One_.”


	25. Together . . . Finally

Chapter 25 Together . . . Finally

Hugh ordered dinner for Jean and Lucien from the Italian Restaurant that the grant team had frequented so many times. However, when Hugh arrived to pick it up, he discovered that the chef did not prepare what he requested. He replaced it with a very special dinner – made just for Lucien and Jean. And he would not let Hugh pay for it. “It is the least that we can do for the Good Doctor and his Lady Jean. As long as they are here in hospital on a Friday evening, we provide the meal. It will be my choice for the food. You just need to pick it up,” the chef told him. 

Diane had selected a small room for them not only to eat dinner in but to spend the night, James had selected an expensive bottle of wine, Carol had added candles and flowers. Richard was in charge of finding a bed large enough that the two of them could spend the night together, if they wanted to, since he kept talking about ‘couple time’ for them. All was ready, when Lucien walked on his crutches to the room, with Jean at his side. 

As he walked Jean into the room, they were both surprised and delighted about the set up. “Oh my goodness, would you look at this Jean?” he proclaimed. Jean reached towards his face and gave him a kiss on the cheek and he kissed her back on the lips. He pulled her closely to his chest. “Jean, I can’t carry you over the threshold, not now. Too gimpy.” “We can make believe you did. Isn’t this so special, for us? When I came down on Saturday morning to identify the patient that James had in his A&E, I just could not imagine it would be you, first telephone call about you in over two years. You! I never imagined we um would be together, like this, just a week later,” Jean told him, as she snuggled closer to his chest. “I didn’t even know if you would know who I was.” “How could I forget you, my love?”

They did not realize that the set up crew were behind them eaves dropping on their conversation, until they heard them applauding. Lucien turned around and said, “Thank you so much. It has been so long since I have been able to do this with my girl. So long.” Jean told them all, “Thank you for all of your thoughtful care this past week. When I came last Saturday, I had no idea what to expect. And now, a chance to share a meal, wine, a bed – well, I can hardly believe it. Thank you.” Richard spoke for the group, “Enjoy dinner you two – for three hours – then I am coming back to check on you, Lucien. Jean, if you need any help, there is a call button. You are not far from the nurse’s station.”

Lucien walked Jean to her chair, and as gallantly as he could, helped her sit down, put the napkin on her lap, and then broke into a huge grin, reached for her hands, kissed them. “Oh my Jean, this is overwhelming. I am getting nervous once again. I am trying to remember how to behave at a fancy restaurant with my lovely lady at my side. How am I doing?” “Lucien Blake, you are quite the attentive gentleman. Thank you,” Jean told him as she kissed his hands. 

As they ate dinner and drank the wine, their conversation started with the house. “Jean, I know Matthew, Alice and Rose are in the house with you, right?” “Matthew and Alice have the front bedroom, well we combined the two smaller rooms for them, put in a bathroom, with a walk-in shower. Some of your Group Session participants are carpenters and they made the conversion for us. The room is very nice. Keeps Alice near the Surgery, Matthew near the front door. Rose is staying in my old bedroom, the two back bedrooms – one is for Joseph, Mattie and the kids, and the other is for Richard. The extra bedrooms upstairs are for James, Hugh or anyone else who stays the night.”

“I stayed in the Studio, our bedroom. Of course, it is a very large room for me. Oh so many memories, and I probably should have closed it down, moved to my old room, but I didn’t,” Jean told Lucien, as she reached for his hands to hold. “And _why_ did you stay? I know I was gone so long, if you had moved out, I would understand, I really would, Jean,” Lucien said, hoping he was not seconding guessing why she remained in their room. “Let me tell you why I stayed – when so many of our friends suggested I move out. Lucien, there was one reason, one very loud, very vocal two year old, um your name sake, Blake, who insisted you would be back, and his Uncle Lucien needed a place to sleep. And you had to sleep with me in that room. Little Blake has slept with me in our bed every Tuesday night and many weekends since you were gone. And if I had closed our bedroom down, it would have broken his little heart, Lucien – I just could not do that,” Jean haltingly said, tears flowing. “Oh Jeannie, oh my love, you and Little Blake kept me alive, kept me a place, and I finally came back,” Lucien said. 

“Jean, the extended Blake household has helped you haven’t they. I am so glad they did. This has worried me since I got back and started recalling my memories. I left you to cope by yourself. I am so sorry, Jean. How _did_ you deal with everything? Who helped you?” 

“Richard has been incredible, he talked with me for hours and hours. Joseph helped me –” “Yes, with your neck. I now remember how he and Mattie met, but more importantly the week he spent with us sorting out his issues with the war. He was in such a desperate place when he came to Jean’s Place and then fell off the couch.” ”Lucien, do you remember that was when you helped him – and yourself – you two wrote in your journals, talked to each other almost every day, you started dealing with your long standing issues as well, even talked extensively to Richard.” “Yes, I do Jean. Thank you for reminding me. Richard came up every Tuesday afternoon, right?” “Yes, you are right, Lucien.”

“When did Matthew and Richard become good friends?” “Well, Lucien, Matthew had a very hard time with your disappearance. He just knew he could break the case, find you, solve the mystery and when he could not, he became quite troubled, hard to live with, and James and I forced him to talk with Richard. It was like pulling teeth, but he did and over time, he and Richard became good friends. He did not replace your friendship with Matthew, it is different with the two of them.”

“And, and, Lucien, you will not believe this, Richard got Alice to talk with him as well. Then one evening about a year ago, I found the three of them sitting at the kitchen table. He had forced Matthew and Alice to tell him why they were not a couple, why they had not gotten ‘hitched’ – it was so obvious to Richard, as well as Rose and me, that they should be together. Richard wanted to hear their reasons why. They sat there for 30 minutes trying to give him reasons why they should not be together, and finally, he called a halt to it. He called to me to come to the kitchen and said, “Jean, will you be Alice’s Matron of Honor? I will be the Best Man. We can get these two married next week. Don’t you think?” In two weeks, they were married in a ceremony in our back yard and we had a party for the two of them.”

“Little Blake was the ring bearer. Lucien, he has missed you so much. I know that is part of the reason he stays with me. You were so good with him, told him silly stories, played with him, read to him. I hope when you feel better – you will want to play with him again. That could be your birthday gift for him. He will be four years old soon. We are having a surprise birthday for him on Sunday afternoon, here in the physician’s lounge.” “Jean, Alice told me about him combing his hair like mine. And now, I have let mine go curly. What do you think he will say?” Lucien asked. “He will ask you, very directly, like any child would. You need to have an answer for him. And it needs to be on Sunday for his party. So either comb your hair or have an answer to satisfy him.”

“Jean, thank you for updating me. I have missed so much – been gone two years and two months, or so. Right?” “Yes, Lucien that is right.” “And Jean, I need to tell you something – Don’t get too angry with me, please.” “What am I going to get angry about, Lucien? You just returned to me.” “I lost my wedding ring, the one you put on my left ring finger, when we were wed. I don’t know what happened to it, I just don’t. I am so sorry, Jean.”

“Lucien, look at me.” Jean pulled the gold necklace outside of her blouse, and at the end of it was his wedding ring. Lucien gasped, looked at it, held it in his fingers, kissed her. “Lucien, you have been next to my heart since you disappeared. I held this ring in safe keeping for you – and for us. I would like to put it back on your left ring finger, right now.” “Please Jean, please do.” As Lucien extended his hand, he was shaking, tears were rolling from his eyes. Jean slipped the ring onto his hand, “ _For my beloved, who has returned to me. I love you. I have never stopped loving you.”_ Once it was on his hand, she kissed the ring, and then kissed him. They held each other, tried to catch their breath, both shedding tears, and trying to get their bearings back. “Oh my Lucien, so many tears – but this time of happiness, for me.” “Me too, my love.” 

“Where was my ring, Jean? How did you find it?” “Lucien, why don’t you think about that. Let your brain process it. Tell me in the morning what you figured out, alright?” “Um, yes, I will, Jean. Not even going to give me a hint?” “Absolutely not, Lucien Blake.”

“Jean, who has been taking care of you, your health? I remember I did, when you would not get on your stubborn streak.” “Lucien, the Melbourne Four and Alice are trying their best to take care of me, when I let them. Well, since you have been gone, my leg has bothered me and I went to the Oriental Medicine Shop and asked about a refill. The owner remembered me. His son, Paul, talked to me and he pulled out the script from you and they refilled it for me. I try to do the exercises but it is getting harder to do them. You know about it, you hurt me just the other day,” as she playfully slapped his wrist. “Yes, I do know about it and we are going to continue to work on it. Anything else?” “Joseph has helped me with my neck as your already know. Since you have been gone, they are making me take a medication for my blood pressure. It got higher than they all wanted. They seem content now with it. And, well, Lucien, I am older now, and –“ “What Jean?” “I am getting older, you know that. I am not the same person you left behind, I’m not,” Jean told him with a shrug to her shoulder, a drop in the level of her voice. “Jean, Jean, you are not getting older in my eyes, you are my gorgeous Jean, who knocked me off of my feet when I returned to Ballarat. I love you dearly, and we are going to enjoy each other for a long time, I just know it,” as Lucien reached for her hands and kissed them. 

“Lucien, I have more to tell you about me.” “Jean, you are not ill, are you? I mean um well –“ Lucien asked, tears collecting in his eyes. “Well, no, but um after many discussions with Richard and Joseph, I stopped taking the pill about a year after you disappeared. The script needed renewing and we, you and me, well we were not you know um, and Richard convinced me I was not giving up on you by stopping – you know, I would never ever be unfaithful to you. You were alive in my mind. Joseph said if I got really irregular, I could go back on them. So I agreed with them. So now I am somewhere in the middle of the um – I guess what I am trying to say is that if ah we get to the point tonight well, Joseph gave us this box – I can guess what is in there, can you?” “Jean, yes I can guess what is in there as well. I am sorry this distresses you so much to talk about it. So you are older, going through the change, so we deal with it. I would never question you or your physicians on your decision to stop taking the pill.” 

“Let me update you. Well, I am still older than you are, right? I realize that I am different as well. We will have to get reacquainted won’t we? So, you know about my knee, my back, my ears, my head injury. But, Radcliffe um well, he is very quiet now, not a peep out of him in many, many months – until the other day when you stirred him up a little bit. I hope when you go to bed with me tonight, maybe you can coax him out of his funk. What I am worried about um well, I want you to stay with me – even if he doesn’t get his act together. I hope we need Joseph’s box, I really do. But, I don’t think it will be tonight, my Jean.” “Lucien Blake, we were one before you left and we are still one now. I am not going anywhere. And neither one of us knows what will happen tonight.” 

“Jean, I have talked with Richard and James about what is not happening when I am next to you. I remember how quickly I um got an erection when I was near you. I remember how we wore each other down, so much pleasure, so much fun in bed with you. They are going to test my blood they froze on Saturday morning and make a blood draw tomorrow morning for testosterone levels and then compare those values to the drug levels. I proposed to them that as drug levels decrease, the testosterone levels should increase. It is a puzzle that I hope to solve soon.” “Lucien, you have turned him into an experiment, haven’t you?” Jean asked him. “I think I have.”

“I know James and Hugh are concerned about my blood pressure as well. They don’t know if it is the drugs I was on or something else. And I had a cardiac episode on Saturday, about 6:30 in the morning, out of nowhere.” “What? Lucien, did they tell you I had a cardiac episode at the same time?” “No, they did not.” “Alice took care of me, could not find anything, and James and Hugh have been checking me every couple of days since I have been here.” “Jean, that is very strange –” “That is what they tell me as well. Do you have any ideas? Ever hear of something like that?” “I have absolutely no idea about this – but let me think on it.” “I think it was about the time you woke up here in hospital. I think we got connected to each other again. Can that happen?” “Don’t know, Jean.” 

“Oh, Lucien, I purchased us something special that we both like on Monday. Been keeping it back until we had some time, alone, just us,” Jean told him, with a smile on her face. She pulled out a gift-wrapped package of the sweet, sugary, chocolate candy they both liked – both introduced to it by Thomas. Lucien quickly opened the box, grinned broadly, “Oh Jean, I remember this, I do. He picked out one, placed it into Jean’s hand, and then got one for myself. They ate the candy, slowly, savoring it, licking their fingers. 

“So, Lucien, you remember this?” “Jeannie, I do indeed. And I remember when we first ate this wonderful candy treat together – on our derailed train stay in the hotel suite in Melbourne, after the play, and just before you told me, that um-“ “What Lucien, that I had the ‘hots’ for you and wanted you in my life?” “Yes, yes, and I told you I felt the same way, and well, the rest is history, isn’t it?” Lucien told her, reaching for her hand to hold, caress, kiss. “You are my anchor, Jeannie. I hope you know that.” “Of course, my handsome boy. I know that and do you remember that you have helped me so much, believed that I could do more than be a housekeeper. I want you back in my life, in Ballarat, to love me, to help me.”

Lucien and Jean heard noise in the hallway as the group returned from eating dinner. Jean heard them talk to Diane at her desk and then Alice asked for Aaron’s chart. “Matthew, I will check on Aaron before I join you. Should not be more than 15 minutes for so.” As she walked into the room, Aaron was chatting with both Bill and Gus. Gus told her, “The three of us, along with Diane, had a very pleasant, uninterrupted evening, and Aaron seems to feeling much better than at noon.” Aaron added, “Alice I needed to sleep this afternoon and I am glad that you made me behave, to stop arguing with you.” “Did you have a pleasant evening as well? Enjoy your fancy dinner?” Aaron asked. “Yes indeed. The Italian place serves excellent food, good wines as well,” Alice said. “Ah, everyone, I am going to turn in. See you early in the morning. Rose and I are going to be part of the early set up team,” Bill said to the group. ”So am I. I am staying in the lounge this evening. Bill, get me up early when you do, alright?” Gus asked.

Richard entered Jean and Lucien’s room about 9 PM. He was in a jovial mood. “Enough couple time, I need to talk to you both, see how things are going.” “Richard, we are doing well. Jean and I are getting caught up on so much that I missed.” Hugh and James entered the room right behind him. “Well, we all had a night off, thank you Major. We ate a nice meal, couple of bottles of wine, interesting desserts. How are the two of you?” Jean answered this time, “We are doing fine. Hugh, thank you for getting us a delicious meal. As you can see, we cleaned up everything. I am informing you three that Lucien and I are staying here tonight – in this room, in this bed, together.” Lucien looked at Jean, with a very big smile on his face, “My gal has spoken. I am with her. She makes the decisions.” 

James and Hugh looked at each other, chuckled, and told the two of them, “Agreed – but under these circumstances. We need vitals on you Lucien, you need to take your meds for your knee, you will keep the knee brace on all night - as well as try to keep it elevated.” “Yes, agreed. Be quick about it.”

Richard looked at Jean, “I am assuming no sleep meds tonight? But you will take your meds for your leg, right?” “Yes, agreed, Richard.” “And do I see a ring on Lucien’s left hand?” “Yes, you do, Richard. Jean had it and gave it back to me at dinner,” Lucien stated proudly, looking at Jean, kissing her hand, not once but twice. 

James looked at Lucien, “Let’s talk about the ring tomorrow. I will let you think about what happened to it.” “Yes, that’s fine if it means the three of you are going away and leaving me and my Jeannie alone,” Lucien told him. “Hospital procedures require a check on you every two hours. Diane is on tonight and will be quiet and discrete, alright? You have a call button if you need it. Agreed?” Hugh asked. “Yes. Of course. Good Night. Go away, please,” Lucien pleaded with them.

“One more thing before I leave. Remember the present that Joseph left for the two of you,” Richard reminded them. “Um, yes, here it is. We will open it when you lot leave,” Jean told him, with a smile. After they were alone again, Jean handed the package to Lucien and he opened it. His mouth dropped open, and he handed it to Jean. “Look at this, Jeannie.” Jean pulled out the note, and read it to him, _“If you two feel like it, use tonight. If not, then save for later. Signed Joseph, Mattie, and Danny. P. S. If you run out, let us know.”_ Jean told Lucien, “That threesome are thinking back to Ballarat when they let us go to the Beach Cottage in your bedroom. They answered the telephone that evening. Do you remember them doing that?” “Jean, I do indeed. I wanted you so much, could not get enough of you. So are we ready for the box?” Lucien asked her. “I guess we will figure it out as we go,” Jean told him.

“Anything sexy to wear tonight, Jean?” “Yes, I have something new to put on.” Jean helped Lucien up from the chair and onto his crutches. He walked to the loo, then over to the bed, and she helped him get undressed. He was sitting on the bed and looked at Jean. “Should I put on the fancy sleeping trousers that Joseph brought from home or just take off my shorts or take off everything? You know I am, um will that bother you if, if –“ “Lucien, it will not bother me. I want to feel every part of you, all of you.” He stood up and Jean helped him get his clothing off over the brace. He then got situated in the bed. Jean took off for the bathroom and removed her clothes, placing them over the back of a chair. She put on a beautiful ivory nightie, purchased earlier in the week when she got the new pant suit. As she walked toward the bed, Lucien’s eyes lit up, a huge grin on his face. “Oh my, Jean, you are so beautiful. Turn off the light and get in here with me, now, please.”

Jean crawled into to the bed, slid close to Lucien and he hugged her, touched her, and kissed her. “Jean, I am speechless, you make me so happy. This time last week I um was on the streets, so hot and thirsty, limping, by myself, disoriented. What if they did not take me to the A&E at the Military Hospital? Somewhere else – and I would not have been recognized. I just shutter at the thought – makes my stomach hurt, my head spin.” “But Lucien, you were taken to the A&E while James was on call. And he knew who you were, got the rest of the team involved. We can never thank them enough. The amount of time they have devoted to you this week is incredible.” “I know that Jean.”

“Um, Jean, can I undress you?” “Of course you can, you silly boy.” Once they were both skin to skin, Lucien broke down and started sobbing. “Lucien, just let it out, cry as long as you need to. I am here for you, all night.” Diane heard him crying, sobbing, and knocked, entered the room. “Jean, how can I help?” “We need a towel to wipe the tears. He is alright, just very emotional.” 

Lucien settled down, his tears slowed and finally ceased. Jean held him closely to her chest, and let him rest. It appeared to her he had fallen asleep. Apparently she did too. A couple hours later, she heard Diane come into the room, check on them, and leave. Lucien must have noticed the light from the hallway and he began to stir. “Jean, Jean, where are we?” “In the room where we had dinner. We are in bed together. Are you alright?” “Yes, yes, I am. Am I really in your arms? Holding you skin to skin? It has been so long. What are these? Goosebumps?” “Lucien, you have always been able to trigger those when you touch me. Nothing has changed. Can I hold him? Would Radcliffe like that?” “Will you, Jean? I would like you to. Can I kiss you? I am so unsure of us, I can’t really remember what we did – um I will follow your lead. I do want to be with you. I know you will help me get better, I do.” “Lucien, just think sideways about us. I think your memories will come back to you – about us,“ Jean told him. “If they don’t, then we make new ones – starting right now, this very minute,” Lucien said, grinning, holding his love tightly to his chest. 

They fell asleep again and about 5 AM began to awaken. Jean saw Lucien just smiling at her, running his index finger over her chest, watching the goosebumps come up time and time again. He moved closer to her breasts, caressed them, kissed them. She reached for his face and kissed him deeply. “Oh my Jean, I had forgotten what this feels like when we are together. Please do not stop.” Jean began to kiss his chest, down to his belly, teased Radcliffe a bit and then back up towards his neck. She kissed his arms, neck, and then played with his beard. “Jean, I, I am so happy. Radcliffe is as well, even though he is quiet. I know we will wake him. He can’t ignore us forever. Drugs have to be decreasing each day, have to.” 

“Lucien, I want to get closer to you, don’t want to hurt your knee, not hurt myself on your knee brace” – then Jean started giggling. “What Jean?” “This is harder than I thought it would be. But I am just about where I want to be.” Once Jean was lying on part of Lucien, with one leg at his side, one leg over his middle and on top of his sleepy prick, he started kissing her, and Jean hugged his neck, holding on to him tightly. “Well, my Jean, all week we have been under someone’s gaze, not able to um well, mess around. Glad we woke up early for this and not for me yelling and screaming. Certainly different for us, but I am delighted you want to be touching me, holding me, that I am not turning you off,” Lucien told his love. 

“Why would you turn me off? For the first time in months, I am happy! Not wondering if you are alive, where on earth you were. This morning, you are in my bed, next to me, waking up in each other’s arms, and I get to love you – as much as I want,” Jean told him. “So my Jeannie, you get to love me – what about me loving you? Can I do that as well? Why don’t we start slowly and see what happens? Maybe I can remember what we did in bed. Do you think I can? We have time, plenty of time, this morning. Let’s see.”

“Um Jean, stay on your side, and I will turn on my side. No, that is not going to work. Can you help me take this blasted brace off of my knee? If I put a pillow around my knee to protect it, I think we can get closer. Let’s try it.” “Lucien, should we do this?” “Jean, I _am_ a Doctor, remember. I can misbehave if I want to. And this morning, I want to misbehave with you. I need you closer to me, I do.”

Once the brace was removed, they tried a couple of different ways to get closer together. Finally Lucien told Jean, “Now, we can start. I need to feel you, caress and kiss your breasts, your neck, and um well, will you let me touch you here?” as his hand wandered to her curls. “Goodness gracious, Lucien, I have been so ready, so needy this entire week for this to happen, and did not know if we should, how to ask you, what to ask you, this has been so maddening.” 

“Jeannie, I want to give you pleasure, I do. Would you like that? Can I start here?” as Lucien leaned over to her, began showering her with kisses, kissing her breasts, and working all the way to her curls, sliding his fingers in and out of her folds, kissing her curls, moving to her mouth to kiss her passionately. “Lucien, oh my, um, I um am responding so quickly to your touch.” “Yes, you are my love. I think you missed me just a little bit, didn’t you?” “And Lucien, who else missed me?” “Oh Jean, um well look at this, feel him, will you? Tell me that this is really happening. This is not a dream, is it? I um well -” His prick suddenly stiffened. Jean gently took Radcliffe in her hand, held his lengthening shaft in her hand, kissed him several times, then moved to Lucien’s mouth and passionately kissed him. 

“Jean my goodness, we have um someone nearly ready to um –“ “Wait, Lucien, let’s suit him up, let me sit astride you.” Then Jean eased him inside her, and they both began to move in unison, Lucien thrusting in and out, slowly at first. Jean trying not to put pressure on his knee, Lucien trying not to push too hard with his bad leg, trying to get the most pleasure for both of them. “Lucien, you alright?” “Yes. What about you, Jean?” “Doing fine.” Soon, Lucien began to thrust with more abandon, and heard Jean screaming in ecstasy, and then finally his release. Tears beginning to flow freely from both of them, as Lucien asked, “Bloody Hell, Jeannie, what did we just do?” “Um do you think we woke anyone up? Did I make too much noise?” Jean asked with a giggle. “Well, it took us long enough to get to this point. Do you realize it is nearly 7:15? Over two hours to figure this out,” Lucien said with a chuckle. “But we did finally did get it on, didn’t we, Dr. Blake?” Lucien did not answer Jean, just smothered her in kisses once again.

Jean was still on top of Lucien, holding onto Radcliffe very tightly while he slowly went soft, both smiling at each other, wiping each other’s tears away. Both of them heard voices in the hallway, then a knock on the door. Lucien shouted, “No, Not yet, please.” “Jean and Lucien, it is me, Joseph, can I come in?” “Um, we need just five minutes more. Alright?” Joseph thought he heard Jean trying to get out of bed, then the bath door close. “Ok – but, just Joseph for right now,” Lucien told the crowd at the door. Joseph came in, saw the open box, “Really Lucien?” “Oh my God, Joseph, took us forever but um well, yes we did. Jean needs clothing. She is in the loo. I need some shorts and the brace back on my knee before anyone else comes in. Will you help us?”

Before Joseph could do either task, James, Hugh and Richard entered the room. Lucien was in bed, with a silly grin on his face, looked contented, relaxed, staring into space, brace not on his knee but lying at the end of the bed. “Where is Jean?” Richard asked him. “Jean is in the loo. I see her nightclothes here so someone needs to hand her something to wear.” “Really, Lucien?” Hugh asked with a grin on his face. “Yes. I need to warn you four, she has her ‘sassy’ streak back, and it is just lovely to behold.” 

Joseph picked up Jean’s nightie and coverup and walked to the door of the bathroom. He knocked, said, “Jean, it is me, Joseph, I have some clothing for you.” He reached into the room with an arm, averted his eyes, and she took the item. “Thank you Joseph. I had no intention of spending the morning in here waiting for you lot to leave.” As she opened the door, Lucien was staring at her, grinning from ear to ear, and Jean walked to him with a distinct blush to her cheeks. “Well, Lucien, what did you tell the Melbourne Four?” “Nothing my love, absolutely nothing. I know better. I know who is in charge.”

“The Melbourne Four?” Richard asked Jean. “Yes, that is what Rose has tagged the lot of you. Sometimes it is just ‘M4’ for short. Thank you all for last evening. We had a wonderful night.” “And, and, I want to show you again what Jean returned to me,” Lucien said with such delight in his voice, none of them could believe where he was just a week ago. He held his left hand in the air and showed the group his wedding ring. 

“And um sometime during the night, I processed the ring, when and where I took it off. I did not have it when I walked into the field near the car. Left my hat, coat, medical bag, keys, flowers, wallet and wedding ring in the car. Robert cut a fence, and the four of us walked along the fence row for a long time, I got so thirsty, and he gave me a canteen of water, tasted strange, and then we stopped in the dark, slept rough in a um um what do you call it um – “ James suggested, “a tent, a fox hole, a dug out, a shepherd’s cabin, a lean to?” “I think a dug out is the closest. We got up and walked again, just three of us now, found another place to sleep, gave me no food, thirsty, so thirsty. Then all black. Woke up in a moving vehicle, somebody walked me into a dirty old house. Black again. Then in a town, no I think a city, remember seeing the Oriental Medicine Shop, so Melbourne I guess. Then sometime later, an Airplane, so bloody air sick, ugh, tied up, hot. My thoughts are starting to get more coherent now, since I have been in hospital. Before just followed orders, figured out what needed to be done, did it. Don’t know why I was promoted to Colonel – had to be able to think more clearly than I can now, wouldn’t you think? So many holes, almost craters, that I cannot figure out.” 

“Lucien, your group participants are coming this afternoon Let’s ask them to draw a map of the area, and help you figure out where you might have been. Describe your clothing for me,” Richard asked him. “Second time we stopped, I took my suit waistcoat, shirt, tie off, folded it up, put it into a bag, left my watch – you know it says ‘Do Your Best’ on it – and Robert gave me clothing to wear. It was old, not dirty, just old.” Richard just smiled at Lucien, “Do you realize what you just recalled? How much new information we will tell Charlie, Danny and Matthew?” 

“I am feeling better, not so much in a – um a fog, that was earlier, but um maybe more clear headed, at least some of the time now. I was ready for a night with my love, thank you all. But my thoughts are still jumping around aren’t they?” “Just remember, Lucien, you have only been here one week. The amount of progress you have made is quite remarkable,” James told him.

Once Lucien had finished telling his memoires of his abduction, Jean looked at Richard and very quickly stated, “Then there were three! Richard, what if the fourth person was George Linemann? Could that be the case?” “Oh my goodness, Jean, you are onto something. We will talk with Matthew this morning!” “What are you two talking about?” Lucien asked. “I will explain this to you later today, Lucien,” Jean told him. “We both have experiments underway, I think,” Jean told him.

Hugh looked at two of them, told them, “You two need to get dressed – not in your night clothes but real clothing – and soon.” “Why? We are just walking to my room across the hall. What does it matter? Who is going to see us in our night clothes?” Lucien asked, almost whining his response. “Major, just do it now, please. No arguing with us,” Joseph told them.

“Can I say one more thing before I get dressed? I did _not_ scream this morning. Not frightened out of my mind. Just woke up in my love’s arms. Yes, very nice.” James looked at Lucien, “And you do _not_ have the brace on your knee, do you Major? Let me help you with it.” “James, it has only been off a couple of hours. It was an impediment this morning,” Lucien said, with a grin from ear to ear. “An impediment, you say?” Richard asked him, with a knowing grin on his face, a chuckle. “I assume you need some clothing as well, right?” Hugh asked, as he handed Lucien his shorts. “Um, yes I do.”


	26. Surprise Party

Ch 26 Surprise Party 

It had been one week ago that Lucien was rolled into this very room, still terribly confused, hanging onto Joseph’s hand as if his life depended on it, not even able to tell anyone his name. Carol and Diane decided to throw him a surprise welcome home party – at 8 AM Saturday morning, December 12, 1964. No one they invited complained about the early start. Rose, Bill, Gus, Carol and Diane decorated his room early that morning, assuming that Jean and Lucien would spend the night in the small room where they had shared dinner. Diane kept an eye on them, checking every couple of hours. And as the hour of 5 AM approached, Carol and Diane had made certain they could not get out of the room. They even had one of the security detail watching the room. James, Hugh, Richard and Joseph were in their room by 7:30 AM keeping them both occupied. They also assigned Joseph and Hugh the task of making certain they both dressed before leaving the room. 

By 7:30 AM, Lucien’s hospital room was quite festive looking, with balloons, crepe paper streamers hanging from the ceiling, a large ‘Welcome Home’ sign over his bed, a small Christmas tree and decorations that Rose brought with her from the Blake house, tinsel lying here and there in the room. A couple containers of popcorn, biscuits, and a cake for later. Rose snapped some photographs of the setup before the party commenced. The hospital cafeteria were asked to dream up the nicest breakfast fare they could and they delivered beyond Carol and Diane’s expectations. The food and drinks were in place for the party by 7:45 AM.

By 8 AM, Lucien’s room was stuffed with friends ready for Jean and Lucien’s return. Somehow they were all fairly quiet, even Jenny and Blake. Jenny was very happy in Matthew’s arms and Blake was waiting impatiently for his Uncle Lucien to come in the door, peaking around the door frame every few seconds. Mattie had told him he should ask Lucien if he could sit on his lap and to be very careful with his knee. Aaron joined the group, sitting in his wheelchair, ear plugs in place, and dark glasses covering his eyes. Gus and Alice told him that the extent of his involvement would be to eat breakfast and leave if the noise got too loud. “Yes, I don’t need a repeat of yesterday, do I?” he asked them, smiling at both of his care givers. 

When Jean and Lucien left their Friday night room and walked into his room, they discovered everyone there – Diane, Carol, Charlie, Danny, the Melbourne four, Mattie and the kids, Gus, Aaron, Alice, Matthew, Bill and Rose, all singing, slightly off key, ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow’ and clapping their hands. Blake ran up to Lucien and just beamed up to him. “Uncle Lucien! Where have you been? I thought you would be in your bed,” pointing towards the hospital bed. Jean and Lucien smiled at each other as well as the other adults. “Well, Blake, um let me sit down and you can get on my lap, does that sound alright?” “Yes, yes, please let me Uncle Lucien.” 

Gus walked up to Lucien, grinned at Little Blake, and said, “Let me help your Uncle Lucien get settled into the easy chair, alright?” “Yes, can I help too?” Blake asked Gus. “Need a couple more pillows for his knee. Can you get them for me?” Gus smiled at the boy, who quickly dashed off towards Joseph for the pillows." Lucien looked at Gus, and said quietly, “Thank you for letting him help.” 

Once Lucien was sitting down, knee elevated and packed in pillows, crutches put away, Gus picked up Blake held him in his arms. “Dr. Gus, I see the top of everyone’s head. You are so tall.” ‘”You think so Blake?” “Yes, I do.” Gus gently lowered Blake onto Lucien’s lap. Blake hugged his Uncle and said, “I am so glad you are back. I didn’t hurt your knee, did I? Mommy said I have to be very careful.” “No, you did not hurt my knee. Blake, I am feeling much better than last week.” “That’s really good, Uncle Lucien.” 

Lucien looked at everyone and said, with his voice trembling and then breaking, “Thank you so much for all of your help this past week. I will never be able to – “ Jean took over for Lucien and took his hand in hers. “I thank you for your support and help the last two years. And for recognizing Lucien last week. And – “ then she broke down. Carol said, “All right, we get the idea you two. This is a party! There is food, tea, scones, everything for breakfast we could think of is on this table. Lucien and Jean – here are your plates of food. The rest of you can fill your own.”

Blake continued to sit on Lucien’s lap, looking at him, smiling, and eating off of his plate while Jenny sat on Jean’s lap while she fed her some of the softer food items. Rose was snapping pictures of the group and finally got some food for herself. Then Matthew walked up behind Lucien and said, “Your attention please. Thank you all so much for the food, friendship, and helping Lucien and Jean. The group of people who are in this room is just remarkable, so dedicated, and willing to work ridiculous hours – to help our good friends. Despite the fact that Alice and I are living a quiet existence in your home Lucien, we want you back to talk to, argue with, to share many a meal with, and for me and you to drink Scotch, together, like we did before. Come home soon my good friend, and that is an order! We have all missed you,” as he put his arms around Lucien’s neck. 

Little Blake looked at both Lucien and Matthew, smiled at them. “What brought on that smile Blake?” Matthew asked him. “Uncle Matthew, I am happy. Uncle Lucien is back. Did you know I have a birthday soon? What are you getting me for a present?” Matthew said, “Of course, I have something very special for you, Blake, but you will just have to wait until your party to see it.” “When is my party? Do you know?” “I do, but I am not going to tell you. Ask your Mother,” Matthew told him.

Lucien chuckled, held Blake closer to him, and asked him, “Do you think you will get a present from me, Blake?” “Yes, Uncle Lucien, _you are my present_.” “Are you going to put a big bow on me for your birthday party?” Lucien asked him, with a twinkle in his eye. “You would look so funny,” as Blake started giggling. Lucien began to tickle his sides and whisper in his ear. “You are better, Uncle Lucien,” Blake told him through his laughter. “Yes, I think I am, Blake.” 

After he had finished eating food from Lucien’s plate, Blake carefully got off of Lucien’s lap and walked to Jean. “Auntie Jean, I need to talk to you.” Jean placed Jenny on Aaron’s lap. She grinned at him and settled into his lap very quickly. “Aaron, I will take her,” Mattie said. “No, this is fine. When she gets fussy, you can have her,” Aaron said, while smiling at Jenny.

Holding his Auntie Jean's hand, Blake walked her to the bath and they went inside, shutting the door behind them. “What is that young man up to, Matthew?” Alice asked. “I imagine he is going to ask Lucien the question that none of us adults has the courage to do this morning. His hair.” “Oh, yes, of course.”

Blake walked out of the bath with a comb and the jar of hair cream, while Jean carried a mirror and a towel for him. “Uncle Lucien, your hair needs to be combed. Don’t you know that you must do that every morning? It is so curly and it is not how I remember you. See nobody else looks like that,” Blake said as he pointed around the room. Everyone suppressed their laughter, trying not to say anything. Lucien just looked at Blake, a grin slowly appearing on his face, looking towards Jean, “You warned me, Jean. I didn’t even get a chance to explain did I?” 

After getting into Lucien's lap once again, Blake opened the jar of hair cream, and Jean helped him put it on Lucien’s hair. Joseph then walked up and helped Blake comb Lucien’s hair, making certain the part was where Blake wanted it to be. “Thanks Daddy, this is just the way we comb my hair isn’t it?” “Yes it is, Blake.” Joseph handed his Major a mirror so he could see how they had combed his hair. It was the way Clark, the fellow who cut his hair, had combed it last week. So that must be the way he wore it when he was practicing medicine and serving as the police surgeon. He shook his head back and forth, trying for the life of him to figure out why he could not remember that nor could be remember why he let his hair go wild and curly. Need to talk to Richard about this memory, or lack of memory.

“Can I tell you my hair is so curly now, Blake?” Lucien began. “No, you can't Uncle Lucien. This is the way you need to look,” Blake explained to him, in a no nonsense manner, as he carefully got off of Lucien’s lap. “Alright, Blake. Yes. Thank you for combing my hair.” Gus walked up to Lucien and with a chuckle quietly asked, “You gonna let a four year old tell you what to do, Dr. Blake?” “It certainly appears that way right now, doesn’t it?” Lucien said, as he looked for Jean, smiled at her, shrugged his shoulders. Her look back at him was simple, ‘Told you so.’

Jean walked over to speak with Richard and Matthew. “Matthew, Lucien told us about his abduction this morning, did you know that?” Jean asked him. “Richard was just sketching out what he said and how you proposed the third man might be George Linemann, the passport that we were looking at yesterday. I think we need to get a copy made of it. I will take it with me when I leave tomorrow. Jean, an inspired idea.” Richard continued, “Also, I think we need to talk with the Group Session mates who are coming today and have them sketch out a map for Lucien to look at, see if we can squeeze out more information from what he told us today about his abduction. They should be able to help us pinpoint where he was. I bet it involves old man Henderson and his stepson Jake Middleton, somehow.”

As Aaron continued to hold Jenny, talk to her, play with her, both Mattie and Joseph sat down next to him and began to chat. Mattie began, “I hear you are going to be in Ballarat for the holidays with all of us. I think you will find an interesting group of people to be around. You must go to Jean’s Place as well.” “I hope you don’t mind one very inquisitive little boy and it is obvious that Jenny already approves of you. She can be quite a pistol at times. A bit like her mother, I think,” Joseph said, while smiling at Mattie. “Aaron, how are you feeling? I know this week has been rather rocky for you,” Joseph asked. “Joseph, you are spot on. Been up and down, Jean tells me there is a sunroom where I can sit, drink tea, soak up the sun, take long naps. Looking forward to it. Still can’t read, handle much noise,” Aaron explained. 

“Mattie, here is Jenny. As much as I am enjoying her company and yours, I need to get away from all of this noise. Sorry.” “I will help you. Let’s roll you into your room, get you into bed, get settled,” Joseph suggested. As Alice saw Joseph roll Aaron out the door, she followed them. Once he was in bed, she checked on him. “Aaron, what can Joseph and I do for you?” Alice asked. ‘The noise just got overwhelming. I will stay in bed the rest of the morning. Close my eyes. Try to sleep.” “We will all keep an eye on you. I will let Carol know where you are.” “Thank you Alice. You do not need to stay.” “Young man, I will stay here if I want to. I thought we went through this yesterday afternoon.” “Yes Dr. Harvey, we did. I don’t feel as bad this morning as yesterday. Just need to rest.” “I will get you some more cold compresses for your neck. Be right back, Dr. Gage,” Alice told him with a smile. ”Yes, thank you for caring, Alice. I appreciate it.” “Aaron, if you are going to become a part of the extended Blake Household, which I think you are, you need to learn that we try to make each day better for each of us, we help each other, it is that simple.” “I understand, Alice, I do. Thank you.”

After the party Hugh walked into the Physician’s Lounge to get some tea, grab some quiet time. He discovered Rose stretched out on one of the small beds. He walked up to her, put his hand on her shoulder, gently roused her, “Rose, Hugh here. Are you alright? You don’t look well.” “Um yes, of course I am fine, Hugh. Um well, on second thought, ah I am not being totally honest with you. Feel really bad. Early 4 AM start to Friday morning, stayed up entirely too late last night talking to Bill and Charlie about Lucien’s disappearance and all the evidence we have, and then up really early today to decorate the room. And now, um so tired, still wired, running on fumes, and well ah I am so thirsty, but too dizzy to get off of this bed to get some water,” Rose told him, trying to smile a little bit, but not able to. 

“Rose, will you let me examine you? I think you have worn yourself out, but there may be more to it. Let me check your blood pressure, listen to your chest, you know the basics, right?” Hugh asked. “Yes. Please get me some water as well.” Hugh rang the call button and Carol walked into the lounge. “Carol, I need an IV with saline for Rose and an arm board. Borderline dehydration and exhaustion. She has pulled off an all-nighter and it has caught up with her,” Hugh asked. “Hugh, um I only asked for some water. I will be fine,” Rose said, trying to get up, realizing very quickly it was a terrible mistake, as she sunk back into the bed, moaning. ”Rose Anderson, don’t you dare upchuck on me, you hear me?” Hugh told her, as he found a basin in case she needed one, helped her turn on her side. “Hugh, I feel just awful.”

After Carol started the IV, Hugh had her add a couple of mediations to it. He sat with Rose holding her hand as she began to relax. “Hugh, thank you. I was so stupid for staying up so long. Used to be able to do it when I was at Uni. So much work to do on Lucien’s disappearance.” “I know, Rose. We all want answers now, don’t want to wait. It may take a long time to unpack what he got himself involved with. You need to rest. I will keep an eye on you,” Hugh told her, as he placed a hand on her shoulder, felt Rose relax even more, heard her begin to breathe deeply. 

“You know Hugh, Diane said Charlie, Bill and Rose were up until 3 this morning, talking, plotting, writing down lists, questions. I don’t know why the other two are not out like Rose is. I will check on Bill’s room and ask about Charlie. Will let you know if they are alright,” Carol told Hugh. 

Carol found Bill asleep in his room and Charlie was sleeping on the couch in the evidence room. So Rose was not the only one who crashed. Carol thought to herself, the Blake’s friends are so dedicated to Lucien and Jean. If I was told this last week, I would not believe it. But now, of course, I do. I have seen it in action. And Lucien and Jean would be doing the same for them. Quite an extended family, helping, caring and protecting each other. A rare group of people indeed. 

By mid-morning Lucien’s room had emptied out. The two of them had both taken a shower, changed into fresh clothing, and Lucien’s hair was back to its curly state. He was reclining in bed, knee elevated, drinking some tea, talking to Jean, who was lying beside him. “Jean, did you know they were going to give us a party? Were you part of the planning group?” Lucien asked her, reaching for her hand to hold. “Lucien, I knew nothing about this. It was so nice, so very special, and included so many of our support group. I thanked Carol and Diane several times for organizing it and for keeping it quiet so neither one of us knew about it,” Jean told him, kissing his hands. 

“I love the Christmas tree from our house, Jean. I remember when we got it, I do. It was our first Christmas after we were wed and it was for our bedroom. I am so glad that Rose brought it for the party. Do you know Christmas is just two weeks away? Do you think I will be home by then?” Lucien asked. “I think it is a distinct possibility, my love. You need to work hard in therapy, behave yourself, follow orders – Yes, I think we may be,” Jean told him, hoping that was indeed the case.

“Do you remember, Jean, how hard you tried to get Danny, Mattie, and me to tell you about Jean’s Place before I took you there for the first time? You were relentless in trying to get one of us to ‘spill the beans’ and tell you. And, and I remember how glad you were that it really truly was a surprise. Um, everyone is still using it, right?” Lucien asked her. “Yes, we are. Ask Vincent, Cliff or Arnie about Jean’s Place this afternoon. Let them tell you about it. You will be pleasantly surprised,” Jean continued.

“Jean, we have not had time to talk about last night. Thank you so much for loving me, no matter what messes I get myself into, and I um well just can’t believe what the two of us did. Everything was just so marvelous. I am still in disbelief. It has been so long, so long since we made love, were in bed together all night, woke up in each other’s embrace, hasn’t it?” Lucien told Jean, smiling at her, reaching to kiss her. 

“Lucien, I had no expectations of what would happen. I thought Joseph’s present was way too early for us. I thought maybe by the time we got home we might feel like getting it on, but certainly not last night. I still am shocked at um, did I push you too fast? Did I hurt your knee?” Jean asked her love. “Absolutely not!” Lucien replied.

“I missed you Lucien, so much, every day waking up in our bed, you not there, your smell leaving the bed, the room. I even put your suits on the sheets so I could smell you. But they are beginning to lose their scent of you, your hair cream, your whiskey, the soap you use, just everything was starting to disappear, hard to picture us together in that room, even beginning to think maybe I should close our studio bedroom up,” Jean told him, getting a bit teary, taking in a huge breath. “I am back, do you know that my Jeannie?” Lucien asked her. “Yes, you are. We need to keep helping you tell your story, help the memories come to the surface, help you recover your strength, be ready to come home with me, to our house, our bedroom, Jean’s Place. We have so much living to do, the two of us, with our Blake family in Ballarat.” “Yes, indeed, my love, we do.” Lucien began a passionate kiss of his beloved, triggering some tears from both of them. “I love you, never stopped Jean. You give me a reason to stay alive, I am only whole with you, my love.”

James walked into the room and smiled at the two of them, lying in the bed, holding hands, kissing. “Um, Well, folks, back to reality now. Lucien, I need to get an EKG on you, check your ears, get a sample to do another drug test, check your eyes and reflexes, blood draw, and Gus will be here in a few minutes to deal with your knee. I am so pleased with where you are now – compared to last Saturday,” James said, smiling at Lucien. “Lucien, I know I am as well,” Gus said as he entered the room. “James, can I talk with Lucien before you do the EKG? Got emergency surgery in 40 minutes.” “Be my guest, I will chat with Jean,” James told him, as he helped her out of the bed. 

“Lucien, let me check your knee, and talk with you about the upcoming therapy sessions,” Gus told Lucien. “Gus, the new brace is so much better, easier to walk on my crutches now, and the therapy is working my leg muscles. They are somewhat sore, but nothing I can’t deal with. You and Carol are doing an excellent job, even though I am complaining before you are finished. The swelling on my knee is decreasing and I am keeping it elevated when I am in bed. Well, um except for part of last night. We took the brace off, wrapped my knee in a pillow. Hard to do what we wanted to um with it on,” Lucien told him, grinning. “Really, Blake?” Gus said as he grinned at Lucien and then at Jean.

“So, if I work with your knee this morning, you’re not going to smack me, is that what you are suggesting?” Gus said, as he chuckled at Lucien. “Well, don’t know, maybe, Gus, I guess it depends on what position you put it in,” Lucien told him. After he had moved the leg and knee for several minutes, Lucien started to groan and grimace and put his hands into a tight fist. Gus picked up on his distress and stopped. “Major improvement from last week, and you are getting more flexibility in the knee. Therapy will vastly increase your range of motion,” Gus explained. 

“Do you have swim trunks and shirts with you, Lucien? I would like to get you started with aquatic therapy next week,” “Joseph brought a couple of pair of swim trunks and shirts back with him on Friday for me. So I am ready to try this, Gus.” “Lucien, you will continue to work on this floor, since it is secure, and Carol and Diane will assist you with the therapy. Also, they will continue with cold packs on your neck and knee.”

“One more thing. About the brace last night – being an impediment. What if I bring another brace for you to wear at night? Something softer, but it is very important to protect your knee from getting injured with the um physical activity that you two are engaging in, you know. I was delighted to hear about your early morning – what should we call it – ,” Gus said, trying to keep a straight face. “Who told you?” “Got many sources who all confirmed it is true. And just looking at the two of you is a dead giveaway. Lucien, after surgery this morning, I will see what types of braces you two have to choose from,” Gus told him, grinning. “Blake, are you coming back to Jean?” “Gus, I hope so. Last night was a gigantic step forward for both of us.” “Of course it was, my friend. And I did not have to start the morning off with you in panic mode, did I?” “No, you did not. And neither did Jean,” Lucien proudly announced to Gus.

“Alright, you two, Joseph tells me there is another party – this time for your namesake, Lucien. Hard to believe little Blake will be four years old. He is such a precocious child, but still a rough and tumble kid. I know how hard Mattie and Joseph want him to have a normal childhood. But with so many adults – including Alice – to read to him, to talk with, play with, hard to imagine it is anything like ‘normal.’ Got to go,” Gus told them. ”Thank you Gus,” Lucien told him, as he shook his hand.

“My turn, Lucien. Carol will get the EKG started, and I will clean your ears, put new drops in. Then we need a urine sample from you,” James told him. After looking at the EKG tracing, he said, ”No issues, Lucien. Last week was apparently an aberration or perhaps you and Jean were getting re-connected? Alice tells me that idea is totally preposterous, hocus pocus, blather and a few more terms I can’t recall her telling me and simply can’t be a logical explanation. Jean, what do you think?” “James, something happened to me at the same time as Lucien. I know that much with certainty. I am doing fine now as well, right? I don’t know how to explain it,” Jean told him. “Jean, Alice told me she wanted to get an EKG on you this afternoon and talk with you. If you are stable, I am ready to stop the cardiac checks for both of you for one week. Let’s see if she agrees,” James told them.

“Lucien, let’s talk about your drug levels as of Friday. Your values have dropped about 30% since the initial test on your admittance to hospital. All three classes are declining at about the same pace. You seem more alert to me. However some of your memories are still confused and hard to access, but you are not as anxious, agitated, or ‘needy’ for want of a better word. What do you think?” James told him. “James, I concur with your analysis. But add in the rocky mornings I have had, frightened out of my mind some days, and yesterday I got pretty angry at Richard when he ordered me to take a nap. Alice defused me, and um I well, don’t know why I go over the top at times. Was I like this before?”

“Jean, what do you think?” “Lucien, no you were not quick to anger. And, I would add you are able to access your medical knowledge with much more ease than last week. You switched into Cantonese without hesitation the other day when you talked to Paul on the telephone and when he came to the room. You worked with Joseph and James the other night and that session seemed like days of old to me. And I come and go from the room without concern now. I could not do that earlier in the week. I think you have made considerable progress this week.” 

“Let me do the blood draw for testosterone level now. We will test your hypothesis. I also want to check your reflexes, eye movement, get another skull x-ray. Richard and Alice want to see how the skull fracture is healing. We can do the x-ray up here on our floor,” James said. 

“One more item, Lucien. Your ear infection is finally abating. The last two medications the Oriental Medicine shop delivered on Wednesday are finally doing the trick. I want you to tell me what they are so I can add that to my script list.” “James, are you beginning to use two styles of medicine in your practice?” Lucien asked him, with a chuckle. “I think I was heading that way before you disappeared. I need your assistance to make the move, Lucien. You need to teach me.” “Of course I will, James. It would be my pleasure.” 

After finishing with Lucien, James walked up to Carol’s desk and asked for Aaron’s chart. “Carol, need Aaron’s chart, my turn to check on him today. Very nice party this morning. Thank you for organizing it for all of us,” James told her. “The party planning was a pleasure for Diane and me. Here is Aaron’s chart. Also, you need to know that Rose, Charlie and Bill were up very, very late last evening – Diane said until nearly 3 AM – and then up early today to set up the party. Hugh found Rose in the Lounge, feeling quite dreadful. We started her on an IV. He is still with her. Charlie and Bill are both asleep, seem to be stable,” Carol told him. 

“When I left last night, those three were working on the time line, evidence, drafting questions. They want so badly to bust this case wide open. Well, we all do, and sounds like they all overdid it. Will you keep an eye on them today?” James asked. “Of course I will. All of you have become very, very special to me. It is a privilege to be on this floor,” Carol told him, touching his shoulder. James told her, “I whole heartedly agree, Carol.” “Oh James, I will be in Lucien’s room if you need me. The two of us need to do his therapy for today. I know there will be visitors this afternoon to occupy him.” “Yes, that is right, his Thursday evening group session mates. If I need anything, I will let you know,” James told her.

“Lucien and Jean, I need to work with Lucien on his knee and neck. Are you ready? Let’s get started. Jean, Hugh is with Rose in the lounge. You might pay them a visit. You know, this floor is keeping me hopping today,” Carol told them, smiling. As Carol began working with Lucien she continued talking, “I also understand a different knee brace for night may be in the offering. Let’s see what Gus decides. And why is your hair curly again, Lucien?” Lucien did not answer Carol about his hair but did tell her, “Yes, perhaps a softer brace for sleeping.” “Ouch, Carol, that hurt. What is that heavy hand about?” “Gus has a different routine for us to do today. I assume we are getting you ready for water therapy on Monday and he usually changes up like this when he wants to get you ready for your release. So we work hard, and you get home to Ballarat for the holidays. Fair trade?” “Oh Yes, my goodness, that is what I want to hear, Carol. You will get no arguing from me. Moans and groans, maybe a Bloody Hell, but no arguing. I will behave myself.” 

Carol and Lucien continued talking, “Jean tells me that Aaron is going to Ballarat with you. That was very thoughtful.” “Aaron still needs assistance. Does not need to be by himself. Most of the early days of my head injury were spent in hiding, traveling at night, bloody neck hurt, head pounded. You know Robert and I fashioned a neck brace out of um what? Well, I don’t remember, something, needed to improvise, trying to keep me from turning my neck, keeping my neck fairly straight. I remember the so called brace was so hot at first to wear but we must have had the alignment pretty close to a real brace. You know Carol, that is the first time I remembered that, it is,” Lucien said, with a grin. “And I will record that in my notes, Dr. Blake,” Carol told him.

Jean returned to the room as the therapy session was wrapping up. “Lucien, Rose, Danny and Bill stayed up until 3 AM working with the evidence. Hugh found Rose in the lounge feeling terrible and Bill and Charlie are back in bed sleeping it off. They all were at the party and then faded very quickly. Hugh is still with Rose – she is sleeping. He said probably dinner time before she is awake,” Jean said. 

“We are going to figure this out, Jean. With all of us pounding on it, we will have a break out soon,” Lucien told her. Carol told him, “All done, Lucien. I will get you settled in bed, pack your neck and knee in cold compresses and let you rest before lunch.” “Yes, please. Getting tired. Need to rest,” as he yawned, reaching for Jean’s hand to hold. “So much better than last week, yes so much better. Have my Jeannie with me here, she is not leaving me, we are going to be home for Christmas, got to get my love some presents and um . . .” as Lucien faded out.

James walked into Aaron’s room and found him lying in bed, dark glasses on, ear plugs in place, neck packed in cold compresses. “Aaron, it is me, James Cornelius. It is my day to check on you. Is this a good time?” “Of course it is, James. You know I have never been a patient in hospital before, and um in my role as a physician, never been part of a treatment team structured like mine. Somehow, all of you know what is going on with me, are on the same page. I really appreciate it, I do,” Aaron told him. “Yes, we are inventing this as we go. Even got Alice involved yesterday I understand,” James stated. “James, I am surprised how much time she spent with me. Once I was sleeping, I am told she sat with me, read my chart, even came back and checked on me after Carol and she got Lucien to take a nap. I can see why she is a part of your POW team. And um Gus, well what can I say? He has gone from making me cry to spending last evening with me. Just talking. Unbelievable, you know?” Aaron explained.

“So, let me check you over and then I want another skull x-ray today. Carol will help both you and Lucien with that task. Let me get started, alright?” James asked. After about 20 minutes of examining Aaron, asking numerous questions, James did a blood draw, and wrote his notes. “Aaron, you are making good progress. I know yesterday was a wakeup call, but I think you are recovering from that. Keep the ear plugs in place, dark glasses on, alright?” 

“I have a ‘Lucien’ question for you James. How on earth did he deal with a head injury like this, without the medical assistance like I have, hiding out, traveling, with serious damage to his neck, how? What is that man made of?” Aaron asked him. “Aaron, the man, well, where do I begin? Joseph, Richard, Hugh and I were in the same POW camp with Lucien. He was the senior officer, he was our Major, and as a matter of fact he still is. He suffered abuse, torture, starvation, beatings um ah to protect his men, us. I don’t know how he survived, truth be told. Sorry Aaron, didn’t want to get quite so emotional.” Aaron reached for James’ hand and held it tightly. 

“From what little you have told me, all of you – the grant team – are alive because of Lucien Blake. No wonder you take care of each other, every day. The inner strength that man possesses pulled him through the war, and now has him focused on living with his recent injury and memory loss. I am so glad I am getting to know all of you, and I truly hope I can become part of this incredible team of physicians,” Aaron told James, continuing to hold his hand, giving him moral support.

“Were all of you physicians already?” Aaron asked. “Well, Richard was in training to be a surgeon, but suffered nerve damage in his hands. He changed to psychiatry because to his injuries. Joseph, Hugh and I are physicians because of the Major. We all attended medical school in Glasgow after the war and all of us migrated to Melbourne. I discovered the Major several years ago after he had moved to Ballarat, took over his father’s surgery, was the Police Surgeon for Matthew, and was beginning his relationship with Jean. Jean, oh my goodness, Jean straightened him up, helped him deal with his nightmares, his back. Such a romance and love story. They were married in March of 1961 and then 18 months later, he vanished. He appeared in my A&E on the 4th of December and we wanted you to help us with his ear infection – which unfortunately led to your severe head injury. That was not our intention, Aaron, it was not,” James said, shaking his head from side to side, placing his hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Aaron, I think you need some more cold compresses for your neck. Let me go get them, and um regain my composure.” “Yes, James, the cold compresses seems like a good idea.”


	27. Ballarat Visitors

Ch 27 Ballarat Visitors 

Richard entered Lucien’s room about 12:30. He found Jean helping Lucien get out of bed, handing him his crutches, walking with him to the loo. Richard took over that task, making certain he was steady on his feet. Carol rolled in a cart with lunch for the three of them. For some reason they were hungry despite the fact they all had eaten a very large breakfast at the Surprise Party just a few hours earlier. Matthew and Alice joined Aaron in his room for lunch. She wanted to be certain he was feeling better and they both wanted to get to know him. After all, he would be living with them in a couple of weeks. 

“Jean, I have you on my Monday appointment list at 4 PM, up here like last week. Carol knows this and I wanted you to jot it down as well,” Richard told her. “Yes, of course, I was hoping you had some time for us to talk,” Jean told him. ”Jean, can I listen in as well?” Lucien asked, with an impish grin on his face. “No, you most certainly cannot. This is my time to unpack the week, with Richard’s professional guidance, think about our next steps. Lucien, so much before was ‘When he comes home, then what?’ and now we have moved to ‘He is back and how to manage us living together once again.’ I think we will make it up as we go, don’t you?” Jean said, smiling at him. “Jean, my love, I adore you, you know that right?” “Yes, and you like to tease me as well.”

“Lucien, let me put you down for 5 PM on Monday and we two can chat. You must start writing in your journal so we can work on that again. Also, you need to write down what you can remember, can’t remember,” Richard told him. “Perhaps after both appointments, we three can eat dinner, continue the sessions, as um a ‘marriage counselling’ conversation, Richard,” Lucien suggested. “Yes, that sounds very good to me,” Jean said to Richard, while looking at Lucien, holding his hand. “Yes, of course, excellent idea, Major,” grinning at the two of them.

“While we are eating, I want to update both of you on a Blake household decision made by yours truly to modify your Studio bedroom. The bath is large, with quite a bit of extra room. Your group session mates have designed a re-model to add a walk-in shower for you Lucien. The new shower will fill the room up but we don’t think it will be too tight for you and Jean to both be in there at the same time. The ladies group talked with Jean on Wednesday, I talked with the fellows on Tuesday, Joseph talked to them on Thursday, and we think we have a plan. The cost is not exorbitant. They will talk you two through it this afternoon. Our completion date is December 25. I know it may prove noisy in the house for a while but I don’t want you falling getting in and out of the tub, Lucien.”

Meanwhile in the adjoining room, Matthew, Alice and Aaron were eating lunch, chatting about how he was feeling, talking about the surprise party. “Can I ask about the Blake house? Jean told me that it is large enough for me to come home with Lucien and her. Is that really true? Sounds like most everyone on the grant team will be there as well,” Aaron asked. Matthew answered, “Yes, Aaron, it is that spacious. I think you will want to claim an upstairs bedroom. Those are pretty well isolated and quiet. There are two downstairs bedrooms that are usually for Richard and Joseph’s family. Alice and I have a bedroom near the surgery. Jean has the Studio which they remodeled to a bedroom when they were married.” 

“What kind of clothes should I bring with me?” “Aaron, I would think one pair of trousers and a smart shirt, rest could be shorts and shirts like you are wearing here. If you want to go to Jean’s Place, then long pants, boots would be good, a hat, sunnies,” Alice told him. “I told Jean I would go with them. Alice, do you think that I will be well enough to not be a um –“ Aaron was trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “Young man, you are leaving hospital, you are coming back to Ballarat for the holidays, probably staying with us for most of January. You may be stuck with me as your physician at times – I think I can manage your care just fine,” Alice told him, with a smile. “Thank you, Dr. Harvey.” “Now what are your plans for this afternoon?” Alice asked Aaron. “Need to have Carol pack my neck, then I am going to stay in bed, rest, sleep the afternoon away I hope,” Aaron told them, grinning. “An excellent idea, Dr. Gage.” “Alice, I will behave myself,” Aaron told her, feeling at ease about the Ballarat trip for the first time.

The group session contingent arrived about 2 PM and Richard met them so they could enter the patient suite. He asked them to join him in a room he reserved for their conversation with Lucien. He began, “Thank you so much for coming today. Lucien is looking forward to this time with you. There are several items we need to talk about today. I want you to talk about the re-model of the bathroom with both Lucien and Jean. And we need to talk about some new information about his disappearance we think you can help us with. And you need time to chat with him about whatever you want.”

“But first, I need to alert you to his condition, what to expect, how to react to him. As you know, he has been here for one week. Sometimes his thinking is disjointed, sometimes in a straight line. He sketched out the initial days of his captivity last night. This was triggered by Jean putting his wedding band back on his ring finger. Matthew would like for you to work some more with him on that. Describe the fields, the area, see if he can fill in some more blanks. Now, he is still not good at answering a direct question. We have had more luck with sideways questions – like he can’t tell us the name of the bank he has his money in, but can give you a complete description of the building. Sometimes he gets very agitated, upset because he cannot remember, if that happens, change the topic, move on to something else. I do not know if he will remember you three. I will remind him about your names,” Richard explained.

While Richard was chatting with the group, Jean helped Lucien get ready for the trip down the hallway. He was trimming his beard, trying to decide about his hair. “Jean, what do you think? Comb it or leave it alone?” “Your group only knows you as the professional, the physician, the police surgeon, who wears his hair like Blake combed it this morning. So, I suggest you do not shock them this afternoon. Comb it,” Jean told him. “Aw alright, I will for this afternoon. I need to ask Richard about this – am I being stubborn or is there some deep held secret hidden in my psyche that is begging to come out!” Lucien said with a grin, a teasing wink at his Jeannie. “Give me the hair cream, my love.” 

Charlie helped Lucien into his wheelchair, elevated his leg, and then rolled him down the hallway into the room for the gathering. “Richard, are you ready for the Boss?” Charlie asked. “Yes, we are ready. Lucien, there are three of your group participants from Ballarat who want to visit this afternoon. Let me remind you of their names,” Richard told him. As Lucien looked at the three of them, he said, “No, Richard. Let them talk to me. Don’t tell me the names, I know them, I do. Let me try to figure this out myself.” 

Arnie spoke first, “Blake, we had a good ride down on the train today. Ate fish and chips –” “You are Arnie, yes, your voice is very familiar.” Lucien put his hand out and shook Arnie’s hand. “After fish and chips and I had to get some Lamington for dessert,” Cliff told him next. “And you know not to eat all of that sugar, don’t you Cliff!” Lucien told him, with a grin on his face. “Yes, Sir, you have told me that many a time. Dr. B, so good to see you,” Cliff said. “Do you know that we all dressed up to come to the big city. I went to the shop in Ballarat and got this new jacket, just for the trip,” Vincent told Lucien. “And Vincent, it fits you very well. Thank you for coming down to see me. And letting me figure out who you are. Richard, I know last week, I would not have been able to do that, right? I am slowly getting better. I am.” 

“Good afternoon,” Joseph told the group as he entered the room. “Can’t stay for long, but wanted to tell everyone hello, check on my Major,” as he put his arm around Lucien’s shoulder. “Also, I need to see the ring again. I know Jean returned it to you last evening.” “Yes, Joseph, Jean did. I, I um, she did. Can’t really describe how happy I am to have her back in my life. You know these three fellows, don’t you?” pointing to Vincent, Arnie and Cliff. “I saw them on Thursday evening, Major.” “Yes, of course, Joseph, you were with them then, right? And in my house. Didn’t remember that, sorry,” Lucien said. 

“Richard, my home. I am so ready to see my home again. Sleep in our bed,” Lucien told him. “Lucien, I think that trip home will be our Christmas present to you. We want the new walk-in shower completed about the same time.” “Good, that is good news. Mates, start my new shower tomorrow, alright,” Lucien said with a smile. “Christmas in our house on Mycroft Avenue. Yes indeed. We have to get home early enough to get a couple of trees, get them decorated, presents, yes lots of presents,” Lucien said, grinning, chuckling. “Maybe even Santa will visit me, do you think?”

Matthew joined the group as well. “G’day. Thought I would be part of this conversation. Alice and Jean are getting caught up – been apart a week, lots to talk about, I think. And I want to hear more from Lucien about what happened to him and where. Well, look who is finally waking up, my Senior Sergeant is out of his bed,” Matthew exclaimed, as Bill walked in the room. “Yes, Boss I am up. Been a long night of thinking. How is Rose?” Bill asked. “Still sleeping, thanks to Hugh and Carol. Should be awake later this afternoon,” Richard told the group. 

Jean and Alice walked to the nurse’s station. “Carol, we need your assistance. I want to examine Jean, see her records from last week. Can you help?” Alice asked her. “Of course, Dr. Harvey. Here is Jean’s record. Let’s use this room. I will get it set up for you,” Carol answered. After her examination of Jean, Alice was satisfied that Jean was stable, nothing else ongoing. “Alice, James thinks both Lucien and I are stable and he will stop monitoring us. I think you agree, right?” “Yes, I do, Jean. Now, how is your leg? I understand Lucien started working with you and made you quite uncomfortable. Is that right?” “Yes, Alice, he has changed the cream he wants to use, is making me do more stretches, and it is still bothering me. I have some medication from James that is helping. I am doing my neck exercises each day and Lucien is massaging my shoulders and neck. I had forgotten how good he is with my neck. This ‘getting older stuff’ is just the pits, isn’t it?” “Yes, Jean, I certainly agree on that point.” 

When they left the exam room, Jean and Alice found a place to have some tea and talk. They were quite used to daily conversations, been doing that for over two years, and their chats helped ground both of them. Alice began, “Jean, the ladies of your group met Thursday afternoon, in the living room as usual. Allie, Cliff’s wife was in charge. They all brought food for us – casseroles, vegs, biscuits, scones, cakes. There is so much to choose from now. Rose and I put most of it in the freezer. Matthew is delighted with all of the sugary treats he now has to nibble on. They told me they would bring food each week until you and Lucien are back home, and even afterwards – and only stop when you tell them to. I think we are finished with the fish and chips for dinner for now. All of us thanked them many times over. I know they could see the relief on my face. And they didn’t say anything about Rose and me not knowing how to cook.” 

“Alice, that was so thoughtful. They must have decided that when they were here talking to me on Wednesday afternoon. We did not talk about that directly, but one of them must have picked up on that fact. Are you and Matthew and Rose doing alright? Any bills that I needed to pay? I left so quickly last Saturday – really what were the chances that Lucien was really the patient? I certainly did not believe it until I saw his back, felt the touch of his hands, saw his smile, his blue eyes -- ” “I did not believe it either. And we did leave quickly. I brought your bank books, the mail for you. You can look through all of it and I can post what we need to when I get back to Ballarat.” “Thank you for thinking about this. I don’t know when I will be back home. What do you think Alice?” “Lucien is getting stronger, the drug levels are declining, the swelling in his knee is decreasing, his head injury is healing. If all stays the course, by Christmas, I would think. That seems to be everyone’s goal for you two,” Alice suggested. 

“I asked Arnie to repair a door that was not shutting properly. He came on Thursday and fixed it. Would not take any money for his time. Said he had been to ‘Jean’s Place’ and made certain everything was fine there. He wants to build a ramp for Lucien to get into the cabin, not to have to struggle with the steps. What do you think? Will that make Lucien upset?” Alice asked. “That sounds like a good idea. Gus tells us that Lucien is going to be on crutches for weeks. I don’t know when he will get to go to Jean’s Place, but long term, he may have trouble with those steps. I know Matthew struggles with them now. So, yes, ask him to build a ramp, and I will pay for the materials and labor. Let’s get it done. If there is anything else he thinks would make it easier for Lucien and Matthew at the cabin, just do it,” Jean told her.

“Jean, I understand that Joseph brought the first plans to remodel the bathroom in your bedroom back with him yesterday to give to Richard. They are all going to discuss it this afternoon. Arnie, Cliff and Vincent think they can have it ready by Christmas.” “Yes, some talk about this on Wednesday when the group session ladies visited me. I think it is a good idea. Going to be interested in what they want to do.”

After Cliff, Arnie and Vincent updated Lucien about the comings and goings in Ballarat, their children, and which teams were winning and losing in footy, Matthew took over the discussion with the group. “Lucien, we want you to think about your abduction. You sketched out part of it this morning. Now, Arnie is going to draw a map, and you tell him what you remember. We are all going to brainstorm this with you.” Arnie began, “Blake, here is the road where your Holden was discovered. Do you remember that you left your wedding band behind?” “Um, yes, I left my wedding ring and um flowers, my bouquet of flowers for my Jeannie. It was our 18-month wedding anniversary. Celebrating with Matthew and Alice, who as I remember it, left our wedding reception early, to do what? Coming home at 4 PM from the station to be with my love. Never made it.” 

Vincent said, “Can you describe what the field looked like where you got out of your car?” “Had a wire fence along the roadside, not open at all. There were three men, Hannam was one of them. Never have figured out why I went with them. Wait, wait, um no lost that thought, sorry. The second guy cut the fence and we walked through and into the open field. I got so bloody hot, sun beating down on my neck, really thirsty. Asked for water. None of the three would give me any,” Lucien told him, shaking his head.

“Wait, wait, Lucien are you certain where your car was parked – the field had a wire fence along it?” Bill asked. “Yes Bill, I am. Why do you ask?” Lucien asked him, scratching his head, then looking at Matthew, then Richard. “Major, it is alright, you tell us what you remember. It is our job to make it fit into this drawing. Do not worry about our expressions, alright?” Richard added.

Then Cliff added, in an excited voice, “Yes, YES, someone moved the car – after Dr. B got out of it. They bloody well moved it! That is why we never saw any footprints around his car. Matthew, what do you think of that idea?” “Cliff, that is good, a really good idea. So you think we don’t know _where_ he entered the field, even _which_ field. Going to take some retracing now. But, when Blake disappeared, we got nowhere quickly. Maybe that helps explain it,” Matthew reminded them. 

Bill said hurriedly, “And just everybody wait, wait a minute, Rose and I have had discussions with Old Man Henderson recently. He is a cagey old fart – we don’t trust him as far as we can throw him. Where are his fields in relation to where we found the car? Who can draw that on this paper?” Arnie, Cliff and Vincent looked at the piece of paper, where the car was located, and then backed up quite a bit before putting a finger down at the very edge of the page. “Do we add another piece of paper to this or what?” Cliff asked. “No, we will just add a hash mark here to show not to scale and put the field right here,” Richard said, realizing the breakthrough they just made. “Matthew, a new can of worms to deal with, huh my friend?” Richard added. “Yes indeed, Richard,” Matthew stated.

“Now fellows, do you remember if Henderson’s field has a wire fence? What do you think?” Matthew asked them. “Well, first thing tomorrow morning, we will find out,” Arnie told them. “And I will be out there as well, Boss. Need to have a police presence with these three fellows. Keep them all out of trouble,” Bill said, with a grin, looking at the group. “And Bill, you will take Peter Crowe with you as well. He needs to get hot and thirsty like the rest of you lot. I will get a copy of Richard and Joseph’s notes from this morning for you. They were in Lucien and Jean’s room when Lucien told them about his wedding ring and his disappearance. There is more information you need to know,” Matthew told his Senior Sergeant. 

“All of you who are going to look for the fence tomorrow need to take several canteens of water with you. That area – so dry, dusty, hot, no water. And look for my pocket watch, the one my father gave me when he sent me away after my mother died. The one that says ‘Do your best.’ They made me leave it behind. Didn’t want to. Told the second guy that and um well, he told me to shut up and then he punched me in the stomach, hard, really hard, made me lose my balance. When I was on the ground, he put his big foot, his heavy boot, on my neck and head. Pushed me even farther into the ground. It was so hard to breathe, so dirty, I um well . . . ” Lucien told them, tears collecting in his eyes. “So bloody angry! But knew I would lose a fight with him, hit me so hard, couldn’t catch my breath.”

Arnie, Cliff, Vincent, and Joseph stood up en masse and walked up to Lucien, all put their arms around him, hugged him, talked quietly to him. Richard could see Lucien initially was losing control of himself, but after a few minutes of the foursome hugging him, his breathing slowed down, tension in his body began to dissipate. Yes, Richard thought, the Blake household all works together to make each day better. And the group session fellows were certainly a part of the Blake extended family. I could not have handled this any better, not a chance. “Um thank you, yes thank you. Such an ugly memory,” Lucien told them, touching each of them on the arm or hand as they moved slowly away from him. Cliff handed Lucien his clean handkerchief. “Here you go Dr. B.”

Bill walked up to Richard and talked quietly to him. They could all see Richard nodding his head up and down. Bill quickly left the room and was on his way to the evidence room when he spotted Carol. “Carol, we need both Alice and Jean in the room with us. Can you tell them?” Bill asked.

Before Bill returned to the room with several photographs, he was joined by Alice, Carol and Jean. They all walked in together. Jean, Alice and Carol stayed near the side of the room. “Doc, I want you to look at these photographs with us. We are all here to help you if it becomes too much. Alright?” Bill explained. Bill pulled the first one out, handed it to Lucien. “Well, that looks like Aaron um let’s see, Gage. He is on this floor with a severe head injury, eats with Jean and me,” Lucien told him without hesitation. Putting the second photograph in Lucien’s hand, he did not even get a chance to ask him who it was. “That is Robert Hannam, yes, not a doubt in my mind. Spent over two years with him. Don’t know why, still don’t. Helped me get back here, has malaria now, blue cracking paint,” Lucien was quick to answer. 

“I have a couple more photographs for you to identify. Can we continue?” Bill asked, looking at Lucien for guidance. Lucien nodded his head yes. “Here is person number three. Do you know this man, Doc?” “Of course I do Bill, that is me, all cleaned up, in my new three piece suit, Jeannie bought me that tie, even have my hair combed,” Lucien told them with a grin on his face. “Doc, here is the last one.” As soon as Bill handed Lucien the photograph, his face changed, contorted into a very frightened grimace, somewhat crazed look. “Um ah, oh my, yes, that is the second man. The one who hit me, stood on my neck and face. Bill that is him. Matthew that is him. Yes! Who is he?” “Doc, that is the Mystery Man. We caught him trying to enter this suite of rooms last Saturday afternoon, he is the guy Danny and I tackled in the hallway. We think he hit Aaron so hard that it took him a couple of days to wake up. And I would bet money he tried to kill you in Cambodia about eight weeks ago. That – is – who – he – is!” Charlie said with his voice getting angrier, louder as he spoke. “Charlie, where is he now?” Lucien asked. “Still in solitary confinement, not talking to us, Doc,” Charlie answered.

Alice and Jean looked at each other, trying to process this new information. How was Lucien was going to handle this? He appeared so intense, emotions running very high. But then Cliff started a new line of discussion and diffused Lucien fairly quickly. “Now, we have some photographs to show you too, Dr. B.” The three gathered around Lucien and showed him a photograph of Jean’s Place. “Well, look at this – Jean’s Place. Cleaned up all around, new rockers on the front porch, fresh coat of paint, perhaps? Lucien asked. “Wait a minute. Wait. What is this here?” Lucien asked, pointing to a solar shower that the guys had installed while he was gone. “We hope you like it. Works just fine, water at the end of the day is quite warm,” Cliff told him. “A shower, Jean have you used it?” Lucien asked. “Of course I have Lucien. I like it. A good addition to our cabin,” Jean told him with a smile. 

Arnie showed him a second photograph and Lucien saw that the dunny was still there, but it had a ‘Closed’ sign on it. “What is this about?” “Well, we have done some remodeling inside the cabin and we have added indoor plumbing, as well as electricity. Everything works just fine,” Arnie told him, with a grin on his face. “A loo for Mattie, hey Joseph?” Lucien said with a chuckle, looking at Joseph, who was grinning as well. ‘Yes Major, that was my first assignment at Jean’s Place, as I remember it, walking Mattie to the dunny at night because she was not to bother you!” Joseph said, grinning. “Yes indeed, my friend,” Lucien told him.

Vincent showed him another photograph of the inside of the cabin. Lucien noticed that the furniture was from their house in Ballarat. “Different furniture, right? So do we have new furniture in our house, Jean?” Lucien asked. “About a year ago, I saw new chairs, a couch, tables, lamps that I really liked so we switched furniture. I like the new look for our house. You will just have to come home to see what we did,” Jean explained. “Yes, I will and it sounds like I will be home for Christmas, it does, my love,” Lucien told her, reaching for her hand to hold, kissing it, as she moved closer to him. “Going to work very hard so I can go home by then.”

“Alright, my turn. Lucien, as you know I asked these three fellows about a walk-in shower for your bedroom. We are in the design phase. Here are the plans. We want you and Jean to look this over and see what you think, make any changes. The construction starts next week. Our illustrious carpenters – Arnie, Cliff and Vincent – say the completion date will be about Christmas. What do you think of it?” Richard told his Major. Lucien looked at the group and shook his head, wiped several tears away. “Um I am at a loss for words, I really am. You have all done so much for Jean and me, so much. You have taken care of the Blake House, Jean’s Place, for us while I was gone. So let me see the remodel plans. Jeannie, come here and let’s decide about this plan,” Lucien said. 

Arnie removed some samples of paint colors, tile pieces from his ruck sack. “Jean, tell me what we need to order. I want to get this underway on Monday. We want this shower to be working by the time you two return to Ballarat,” Arnie told Jean. Jean and Jean picked out the paint color and tile they liked. “This design looks fine to us. Let me write you a check to get the materials so you can get started. When you run out of money, let me know,” Jean told Arnie. Lucien looked at her and smiled. “Well, we know who is the head of the Blake household don’t we? And that is fine with me.” 

Lucien stood up from his wheelchair, Charlie handed him his crutches. He reached his hand out to Arnie, Cliff and Vincent and shook their hands, hugged them, and talked quietly to each of them. Then Lucien told everyone, “Thank you so much. I um really mean this, to the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”

As Lucien sat back down in his wheelchair, the ring of Joseph’s pager brought the group back to reality. “I have been able to stay much longer than I anticipated this afternoon. Mates, I am off. Safe journey back to Ballarat. Jean and Lucien, I will check in before I leave hospital this evening.” He walked up to his Major, hugged him, and then gave Jean a kiss on the cheek. 

The group all noticed that Lucien barely acknowledged Joseph leaving the room. Jean realized that Lucien went from engaging in conversation with the fellows to becoming very, very quiet. Withdrawing. She walked up to him, placed her hands around his neck, but he simply continued to stare at the floor, never acknowledged she was next to him. Of all people to shut out – Joseph and now me. Jean thought this behavior is so familiar – he did it several times on his arrival back to Ballarat. Sliding quickly into the dark places, dark crevices, black holes in his mind. Withdrawing. Back then he would drink heavily, empty an entire bottle of scotch in a matter of hours. Brooding. She remembered the night that Matthew told them about a physician – by the name of ‘James Cornelius’ – who called looking for Lucien. Jean worked for a couple of hours to get Lucien to say one word to her, to tell her what he was thinking. After he started talking, he told her what happened to him in camp, two hours before he wore himself down. She even slept with him that night, held him tightly while he sobbed. Jean thought, we don’t need to go there again, please Lucien, love, don’t do that. 

Bill stood up and told the group, “If I am going to catch the train with these fellows, need to pack my suitcase. Will be back here directly. Then we can leave.” When Bill returned, Matthew gave him an envelope with Richard’s notes from the morning wedding ring conversation, a copy of the George Linemann’s passport, and his suggestions about organizing the search in the morning. “Now, the three of you, Cliff, Arnie and Vincent, don’t take chances on your field trip. The two blokes who are being paid to do that are Bill and Peter. Keep your eyes open, for anything. Don’t know what is important or not important right now. Bill, call me when you complete the search and give me your report. Alice, Rose and I are leaving for home after the birthday party tomorrow. Will be back around 6 PM I would imagine,” Matthew told them. 

“One more thing. Bill you are now on duty. Don’t talk about any of this on the way home. Watch each other’s back, right? There may still be people out there trying to get information about Lucien,” Matthew told him, switching into his role as Chief Superintendent Lawson. “Yes Boss. We will all take care of each other. Will check in with you tomorrow evening.” “And Charlie, would you accompany this group to the depot and make certain they get on the train? I would appreciate it,” Matthew asked. “Of course, Matthew, no worries.”


	28. The Dark Hole

Ch. 28 The Dark Hole

As Matthew gave the Ballarat group their marching orders, Alice began observing Lucien – was he thinking about what happened, perhaps lost in his thoughts, what was going on? It seemed to her that Lucien lost some of his confidence this afternoon, some of his morning swagger disappeared. We need to talk about the memories that the Mystery Man triggered and help him process them now. I can imagine he could have terrible nighttime terrors about this. And Jean just joined him in bed last evening. Yes, need to begin to unpack this with him. Then we let Jean enter the conversation. Both Alice and Richard noticed that Lucien remained in his wheelchair, looking at the floor, very quiet, shaking his head occasionally, lips moving at times, like in a conversation. 

After the group departed for the depot, Alice walked up to Richard. She said, “We need to chat. Carol please join us. Matthew will you take Jean to get some tea, visit with Aaron perhaps?” “Jean looked at Alice and said, “No, Alice, I am staying here with Lucien.” “Please, Jean, go with Matthew and we will talk about this at dinner. Richard and I will take care of Lucien, trust me on this, alright?” Jean looked towards Richard, who walked to her and quietly said, “Remember Jean, you do not have to carry all of the load. Let Alice and me – we will carry it this time. There will be plenty of work for you after we help him begin to unpack this. You are his anchor, his love, and you will provide that for him.” “Um Yes, Richard, I will leave. You take care of him, please. He just came back to me. Don’t let him go any deeper into those holes, craters, caves in his mind.” “Of course I will take care of him. He helped me years ago, I am only here because of him. The favor is still being returned.” Matthew took Jean’s hand and they slowly walked out of the room. It was obvious that Lucien did not even hear their conversation. He made no effort to reach for Jean’s hand, to speak to her. It seemed to her he was descending into those dark places he did when he first arrived in Ballarat, years ago. 

“Lucien, we need to unpack what happened this afternoon, alright Dr. Blake?” Alice asked him, turning his head so she could look at him. “Alice, I was so happy about planning to return to our home in Ballarat and now these um new memories, well, I thought I had turned a corner on this but now, um, don’t know, so uncertain, anxious,” Lucien stated as he ground to a halt. Alice said, “Blake, look at Richard and me. That is why we are talking now. We must lay out a plan for the next couple of days for you. Help you with these memories about the beginning of your disappearance. You need to fill us in on what happened and we need to share with you what we did in the initial days. Do you understand?”

At that moment, Gus walked in with a new knee brace for Lucien. He had a big grin on his face but when he saw the four of them talking, quietly, he quickly toned down his greeting. He put the brace down, placed his hands on Lucien’s shoulders, simply held him, feeling the tension his body was carrying. Lucien did not flinch at all – he knew the feel of the big surgeon’s hands from days before. Richard began, revising his initial approach, surprised once again that Gus showed up at just the right moment in time, “Lucien, I want you to tell Gus about this afternoon.” “NO, I most definitely will not, Richard,” Lucien spit out, very angrily, all the while continuing to stare at the floor. 

Alice, took his face in her hands, looked him in the eyes, before she said in a steady tone, “Look at me Dr. Blake. Yes, right here – I am talking to you, my good friend. I want you to start telling us what happened when you saw the picture of one of your kidnappers, the second man, your attacker in the field, and probably the person who nearly killed you in Cambodia. Richard and I are not going to tell Gus. You need to tell Gus what you remember about those events and tell him what transpired this afternoon. Do you hear me?” Alice told him, then carefully wiped tears from Lucien’s eyes and face.

Gus did not face him, stayed behind him working on his neck and shoulders, while Lucien returned his gaze to the floor. Quietly, Gus began talking to him, “Now, Blake, why do you think your recovery will be anything like a regular person’s? A couple of bad memories on the couch to be analyzed by Richard and you are on your way back to a normal life. No way. No, my friend _you_ are Lucien Blake, my esteemed colleague, who must fight his way back, rung by rung, from the dark depths, once again. We are here to help, so tell me some of what happened today. I am waiting, do you hear me?”

Lucien sat quietly for a few minutes. Gus did not ask him again to talk with him, simply held him in his grasp. Then he began to talk, slowly, but continued staring at the floor. “Gus, um the fellows are designing a new walk-in shower for our bedroom at home. We had to make some choices of paint and tile, and how large to make it. They also showed me pictures of Jean’s Place. It has a solar shower, electricity and a loo inside now. Really glad they updated it for us. That was all good to talk about. Very hopeful, going to go home. Jeannie will be with me. I need her Gus, I do.”

“Well, um, then we talked about where they found my car, what the fields looked like around there. We decided the car was not parked where I was forced into the field. I remembered that they made me leave my gold pocket watch, the one my father gave me when I was just ten years old. And I remembered how the second man hit me in the stomach, stood on my face and head, would not let me have water, how bloody hot and thirsty I was. Then Bill showed me pictures, and he um was well um – and he hit me in the neck and head, really hard, it was dark, Hannam tried to stop him and he couldn’t, punched Robert in the face and he fell to the ground.“ “Was this attack just a few weeks ago, Major?” Richard asked him. “Yes, in Cambodia. Thought I was going to die, right there. Jean would never know what happened to me. I would never see her again, never hold her, never love her um –”

“You see, Robert and I had talked about um ah well decreasing what he was giving me, throwing the rest of it away. I was never going to get back home if I couldn’t think more clearly, get away from – that man had me on so much stuff. Don’t know how I could do anything, guess I just followed orders. I knew we had to step the dosage down slowly. But then, as I was coming down from um well, the days got so confused. And the man figured out what we were doing, went ballistic one night, um early morning maybe, and attacked us both. Incapacitating me was his goal, even if it meant I was of no use to him any longer. I guess he thought he was successful cause Robert said he was gone when he regained consciousness. I was out of it for a couple of days.” 

“Hannam helped me, fashioned a neck brace for me, hid us, we stayed out of sight for days. Maybe the guy thought I was dead, I don’t know. During that time, Robert figured out a way for us to get posted on a ship to Australia, to Canberra, and out of the Army without the guy knowing we even left Cambodia. Stayed hidden on the ship all the way back. Don’t know how we did that. Bloody head and neck hurt all the way back, didn’t eat much, so seasick. Then to Melbourne. Hiding out. Blue cracking paint. Still stepping the drugs down, trying to get off of them. Found Jean’s Toy Shop – yes, sitting at Jean’s Place, so hot, thirsty, knee hurt so badly um well,” Lucien talked more softly, slowly, and finally stopped.

Gus continued to hold Lucien, his large hands engulfing his neck, massaging it, talking to him softly. The tears flowed from both of them. “Blake, you are one hell of a good man. Just remember that, my friend.” Gus looked at Alice, Richard and Carol who were quite emotional as well. They walked up to Lucien and surrounded him. Richard told his Major, “I love you, do you know that?” “Um, yes I think I do remember that Richard,” Lucien said, looking up from the floor and smiling at the group of people surrounding him. “Thank you for all of your help today. I am going to beat this, I am. I must talk with my Jeannie, convince her that we can be together tonight, that she will be safe with me. I need her, I really do.”

“Blake, let’s get you up and let you walk back to your room. I will be next to you, alright?” Gus suggested. “Yes, Gus. Need to stretch my legs. But we must find Jean on the way back. They made her leave the room. Need to explain to her, yes, must explain,” Lucien told him. They walked back towards Lucien’s room and found Jean lying down on Lucien’s bed, Matthew was in the easy chair, with his leg propped up on pillows.

“Two of my very favorite people, waiting for me. I am doing much better now. My recovery will be hastened if I can lie down next to my love,” Lucien told them, smiling slightly. Lucien sat on the side of the bed and Gus removed the knee brace and put on the softer one. Carol helped him take his shirt off and packed his neck with cold compresses. Then they helped him get into bed with Jean. “I will leave you two alone to talk. We are all at the desk if you need anything,” Gus told them. “Thank you Gus, once again,” Lucien told him, reaching for his hand to shake. 

“Gus, what about a hand up from this soft chair?” Matthew asked. “Of course, let’s get you up – there we are, here is your cane. If I can help you, Matthew, let me know, alright?” Gus quietly told him. “Um Yes, Gus, well my leg hurts like hell today. I think too much walking since we have been in Melbourne. Got some pain killers in the room. Need to walk there and get them,” Matthew explained. “Let’s go to the desk and have Carol get you something. Save you the long walk, on a bum leg. Let’s talk about this soon, alright?” Gus suggested. 

“Jean, Jean, um I am going to try my very best not to descend down that dark hole again, I am going to try to let you or Richard or Gus or Alice know what is happening so one of you can help me. Can’t do this by myself. I remember how you pulled me out of several of those craters before. Must not try to do it all alone. Can’t. I know that, I do. Need to remember it. Please do not give up on me. Please. I cannot make it without you,” Lucien told her as he held her tightly, his words firing out of his mouth like bullets. “Lucien, just slow down. Try to settle, take a breath. Why do you think I would give up on you? I am NOT – do you understand? I will help you as much as you will let me, well except when Richard runs me out of the room, as he is prone to do. Tells me I don’t need to carry all of the load – “ “Like you carried me when I came back to Ballarat, right? That was not fair to you. But my love, what if I can never explain what I did, why I did it? Can you live with me if you don’t know? If I don’t know?” Lucien tried to finish his thoughts but was quickly tearing up, sniffling, burying his head in Jean’s shoulder. “Oh Jean, my Jeannie. Hold me, please hold me.”

“Lucien, when we talked about your camp experiences, you showed me sketches of what happened to you. It helped us talk about those bad events, try to process them. Do you want to try that? Do you think that would let you process this two year absence in a different manner than talking or writing about it?” Jean asked him. “Jean, that is an excellent idea. You were always smarter than me, weren’t you? Where do we get some drawing paper?” Lucien asked. Jean rang the call button and Carol walked in, smiling at the two of them, lying in each other’s arms, lipstick smears on Lucien’s cheek and neck. “We need some drawing paper and pencils. Any chance something like that is already here?” Jean asked. “Yes, I do believe there is a supply of exactly what you two want. I will be right back,” Carol told them, motioning to Jean about the lipstick on Lucien’s face. 

After the paper and pencils were delivered, Lucien sat up in bed, placed the paper on his bed tray, and began to sketch, slowly at first and then with some abandon. “Can you write down when this was, where, who these people are? Would that help you recall what is going on?” Jean asked. “Good idea Jean. Let me try that as well. You know I want to write this afternoon in my journal too. Should have a lot to talk with Richard about on Monday.” They stayed in bed for nearly an hour as he sketched, she asked questions, he tried to answer them. At times, they laughed at his drawings, then other times, all was much more serious, frightening, even downright scary. Jean broke down a couple of times and shed some tears. Lucien held her, comforted her, as he tried to explain what happened, that he did survive it, he was with her now. “Jeannie, I love you, do you know that?” “Yes, my love, I know that.”

They were interrupted with a visit from Danny, James and Paul. “Major, Danny accompanied me to Paul’s Oriental Medicine Shop this morning. We spent some time talking about Hannam and his terrible bout with malaria. Discussed some alternative medications, Paul made a couple of telephone calls to his colleagues, and he has compounded a new drug for us to try with Hannam. Danny brought the three of us back a couple of hours ago. We started Robert on it about 1 PM, so still early, early hours. I have the staff in the tropical medicine unit watching him closely,” James told him. “Excellent work Paul. Thank you for trying to help,” Lucien said. “And how are you today, my friend?” Paul asked. “Truth be told, up and down like a roller coaster. Jean is helping me do some sketching, thinking that might help my memories transfer to paper, so I can remember them, unpack them. Willing to try that at least,” Lucien told him. “And Lady Jean, your leg? Is Lucien working you too hard?” Paul asked. “How did you know that Paul? I am working on the stretches, but they are still so hard to do and he can be a taskmaster extraordinaire at times,” Jean told him.

Alice, Richard, and Carol gathered around the Nurse’s Station and wrote their patient notes about the afternoon’s events with Lucien. Each one mentioned how quickly Lucien descended into, for want of a better term, the ‘dark hole.’ Jean had told them about Lucien’s behavior before they were married, and Richard knew so many POWs who did a similar thing. The grant team, at times, still exhibited this behavior. Sometimes, he could pinpoint the issue, other times, it just happened, even with him. 

After Aaron woke up from his nap, he decided to walk to the physician’s lounge, see if anyone was there he could talk with, just get a change of scenery from the four walls of his hospital room. He found Rose lying on one of the small beds, beginning to wake up, trying to get her bearings. “Rose, it is Aaron. Heard that you crashed this morning. Are you feeling a bit more human now?” “Aaron, um maybe. Just starting to wake up. I think Hugh and Carol slipped me what? But not so nauseated now, not so tired. You know Aaron, I can’t pull off an all-nighter plus several hours of setting up a party like I use to,” Rose told him smiling at him. 

Aaron sat down next to her, held her hand, took her pulse, put his hand on her forehead. “Rose, you seem to have a regular pulse, no fever, but let’s stay prone until you get the all clear to get up. If you fell, I would not be much help. “Aaron, are you feeling better? Sorry you had to leave the party early. Can’t imagine how either you or Lucien can handle the relentless headaches,” Rose told him. “Yes, I am feeling better. But so ready for this headache to lessen. It has been just a week. Lucien still has headaches and he is into week seven or eight post skull fracture.”

After helping Matthew get some pain medication, Gus walked into the lounge and found Aaron and Rose chatting. “Well, my young friends, how are you two doing? Aaron, glad to see you in your dark glasses but we need to repack your neck, don’t we? Rose, how can I help you?” “Gus, I just woke up and still a bit disoriented,” Rose told him. Gus pushed the call button and pulled up a chair next to Rose. “Aaron has a good idea for you, just stay put. No reason to get up and fall flat,” Gus told her. 

Carol and Alice walked into the room and found the trio talking about the party and how they imagined Little Blake being surprised tomorrow – he was told they were coming back to visit his Uncle Lucien again. Not for his fourth birthday party. Rose was telling Aaron and Gus about living at the Blake house, the weekend visits by the McCann family and the Tuesday sleepovers for Little Blake with Jean, the trip back with Richard on the train early Wednesday morning. They all decided that Blake had a most unusual childhood. “I certainly agree with that analysis. Blake is working my crossword puzzles with me now, he is doing Matthew’s cryptograms with him, and Jean has him reading like a 12 or 13 year old. We are all on the prowl for more for him to do,” Alice told them.

“So Rose, talk to me, convince me you are feeling better,” Alice told her. “Yes, I am better. Aaron and Gus would not let me get up until a physician checked me out. I guess neither one of these fellows are – “ “Now Rose, you know I only fix broken bones, need my carpentry tools, patient needs to be asleep – and look at you, getting sassy, no bones to set, out of my league,” Gus said with a grin. Alice looked at Gus, put her hand on his shoulder, “Gus Wilson, I beg to differ. I have witnessed you in action with Lucien both Friday morning and this afternoon – you are more than a bone man, so much more. I thank you for your skill, whether you are improvising or utilizing your sub-specialty in psychiatry. You have the insight that is helping Lucien –“ Aaron jumped into the conversation, “and me as well. Thank you.” “Could that be a complement from Dr. Alice Harvey? Yes, I believe it is. And I thank you,” Gus told her, with a grin on his face. 

Carol returned with cold compresses for Aaron’s neck and packed it once again for him. Alice did an examination of Rose and helped her sit up, and then got her standing. “Yes, I am alright now. And I will not do that again. How are Bill and Charlie?” “The guys are on their way to the depot. Lots to fill you in on Rose,” Gus told her. “No, no, every time I have a timeline figured out, know what I want to do next, Lucien remembers more. Is he alright?” Rose asked. “Yes, he and Jean are in bed, talking, he is sketching and writing in his journal, Jean is helping him. We will get you caught up later,” Alice told her.

Diane delivered dinner to the group in Lucien’s room. Matthew, Alice, Rose, and Aaron joined Jean and Lucien. The conversation centered around how Rose felt, Aaron’s headache, Lucien’s sketches, and Jean, Matthew and Alice’s opinion of the new information. Then Matthew began telling Lucien about their initial search strategy used when he disappeared. He also explained how Lucien’s group session mates got involved, the Melbourne Four plus Danny and Charlie helped out, and how long they searched. Jean then told him about Danny, Charlie and James, and their relentless searching, thinking, questioning. And how their approach finally paid off in the early hours of December 5th when James realized who was on the gurney in his A&E treatment room, unconscious, living rough, needing medical attention. Aaron said, with some emotion, “I understand better now how the Blake family works together, helps each other. Thank you for letting me and my hard head be a part of it.” 

“So, now Lucien Blake, we need to talk about the next few days for you and Jean. This afternoon’s revelations – we have started to process them with you,” Alice told him. “Yes, you have and Jeannie has helped me as well. Look at my sketches, my journal. I am not staring at the floor any longer. Know I can’t descend into the craters of my brain, hide there, just can’t,” Lucien told them. “What about tonight’s sleeping arrangements, Blake?” Matthew asked. “Lucien and I have talked quite a bit about this already. We are going to be in the other room, together. I know Diane will check on us every two hours or so, and that is fine with us. We want to go to bed early, continue talking, just be together, hold each other. We both know the road to recovery is not going to be smooth, we have craters to avoid, but we think we can handle being together tonight,” Jean finished, reaching for his hands to hold. “I trust my love making the decisions, I do. If she thinks we can make this work, then we can, together. Not alone any longer,” Lucien told everyone.

Lucien and Matthew continued talking in the room, Alice and Jean moved to the Physician’s Lounge, got some tea and talked while Rose helped Aaron get to his room, lie down in his bed and then they began to chat. Joseph called and talked to Lucien about the new baby boy he delivered and told him they would see them on Sunday for Little Blake’s birthday party. His final comment was about the journal writing. “Major, you are writing in your journal, right? I want to talk with you about it tomorrow,” Joseph told him. “Yes, Joseph, I have already done that task. See you tomorrow.”

Jean walked back into the room and suggested they get ready to move to the bedroom. “Yes, um, let’s get changed and settled into the bed. I will change into the sleeping trousers and dressing gown that Joseph brought me from home. What are you going to wear, my love?” “I have my new nightie and gown. I will take your lotion for you and work on your back. Keep the soft brace on for tonight. Joseph’s package is still in the room if we get that far,” Jean told him. “Don’t know, my love, how far we will get. I just need you, want to hold you, talk with you,” Lucien told her, reaching to kiss her hands.

Lucien and Jean walked to the small room, got into the bed. A few minutes later, Diane entered the room, took Lucien’s vitals, packed his neck in cold compresses, made certain Jean could access the call button. Then she checked on Aaron who was settling into an early bedtime as well. She knew he had struggled once again with the loud noises at the party but he seemed more relaxed now, less anxious. She packed his neck, gave him his pain medication, he put in the ear plugs. “Thank you Diane. I am going to go to sleep pretty quickly tonight. Please turn off the lights for me.” “Let me know if you need anything, Aaron.” “Of course I will Diane.” 

With Diane’s three charges in bed, that left several of the physicians on the floor, sitting in the evidence room talking shop, drinking tea, trying to process what happened with Lucien that afternoon. Alice, Richard, and James were joined by Matthew and Rose, and the brainstorming, the questioning began in earnest. Diane looked in the room, thought to herself, what a distinguished group: two POW grant physicians, one of whom was searching for Lucien along with Detectives Danny and Charlie for over two years; one physician who is the Police Surgeon from Ballarat; one investigative reporter from Ballarat; and one Chief Superintendent of Police from Ballarat. If I needed a team of investigators to find out what happened to a loved one, this seemed to her like a hand-picked group, who would eventually succeed.

Rose told them she would take notes for the group. After nearly an hour, she held up her pad of paper, with two pages nearly filled with questions that needed answers. “Alright should I read these off to all of you?” “Yes, let us hear what we suggested,” Matthew told her. Rose began, “Why is Hannam involved in Lucien’s abduction? Was he giving Lucien the drugs? Or did the second guy, who seems to be the Mystery Man, give them to him? Why did they keep him drugged? Where did they get the drugs? How did they know how much to give him? When did the Major and Hannam decide to step down the drugs? What triggered that decision? How did these drugs work to control Lucien’s behavior, but not impede his ability to be a physician, carry out assigned missions?”

On another line of questions, Rose told them, “When did Hannam get malaria? Perhaps this recent event is a relapse, he could not have been that sick on the way back to Australia with Lucien in tow – as badly injured as he must have been.”

Concerning their exit from Cambodia, Rose posed, ”How did Hannam manage to hide Lucien, get him out of Cambodia, navigate the discharge from the army, find the house in Melbourne? Was there someone else helping them? If so, who else is involved?”

Taking off on another line of questions, Rose asked, “Who is the second man? Is he the Mystery Man that Charlie and Danny tackled? Is he Boris Green from the passport in Lucien’s bank box? We think we have his current passport and probably his gun. The window of opportunity for Lucien to take these items from him would be after Green arrived in Sydney on the 20th of November, traveled here to Melbourne, and the first week in December. Lucien has been in hospital since late the night of the 4th of December. Is that why Green was up on this floor last week? Green has three other known aliases: Mark Pearce, Jonas Holman and Mick Young. Why is he in charge of the abduction? Or was he? What was the goal of the abduction? Why was he so angry at Blake? Is this connected to previous undercover work that Lucien did before he returned to Ballarat?” 

Matthew interjected his comments, “We need to re-read the documents that Bill and I discovered in the Ballarat police station. We have two names in that dossier and one of them is similar to Green – it is Gennardy. And that bullet wound Lucien suffered that he could not remember, until Friday morning, was inflicted by Gennardy. Could that be a coincidence?”

Continuing on Rose read off the next set of questions, “When did the Mystery Man/Green figure out that Lucien was coming off drugs? When did he discover that Hannam and Lucien were no longer in Cambodia? How did he find them here in Melbourne? Why was Hannam part of the team to abduct Lucien? Why did Lucien stay with Robert for so many months?”

“Just a few more questions,” Rose said as she continued. “Who is the third guy? Is he George Linemann? Where is he? What was his role? He has dropped off of the map at this point, unless he changed his name. Remember, Lucien had that passport and gave it to Paul for safekeeping soon after he was in Melbourne. How did he get it?”

“I know we will think of more questions, but this list is making my head spin,” Rose told the group. “And you, young lady, are not going to stay up beyond 10 PM tonight. No late nights, trying to figure this out. Understood?” Alice told her. “Yes, Dr. Harvey, I understand. I learned my lesson last night, I did.” 

Alice looked at the group and said, “Every incident that Lucien remembers, generates so many more questions, this puzzle may take us months to figure out, maybe as long as he has been away. And James, how is Hannam? Is the new medication working?” “Well, Alice, let’s go to Tropical Disease Ward and find out right now.” James suggested to her. “Yes indeed.”


	29. Sunday, Melbourne and Ballarat

New Ch 29 Sunday, Melbourne and Ballarat 

As the group began to disperse, Matthew asked Alice, “Are you really telling Rose to go to bed and you and James are trapesing off to check on a patient?” They smiled at each other, then looked at Rose. Alice reached towards Matthew, and took his hand, kissed it, and told him, “Yes, Matthew. I will be quiet when I return to our room. I am certain James will look after me, bring me back here. I will be fine. You know I am excited to learn more about the tropical disease unit. Take care of Rose.” 

“Matthew, I will look after Alice. I know Diane will be here shortly to walk both Rose and you to your room,” James told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You do know neither one of us is a patient, correct James?” Rose asked James, giving him a strange look. Diane walked up the group, and politely informed them, “Well, if neither one of you is a patient, why do I have orders for medications for both of you for this evening? Someone must think you need my assistance. Alice and James, off you go. I will take care of this unruly duo,” Diane said with a smile. 

“Diane, what are you talking about?” Rose asked her as they walked down the hallway. “Rose, Hugh left orders for you to have a sleeping medication, Alice told me 10 PM is lights out for you, and I am here to make certain both orders are followed. Here you go, here is the room. Let’s go in and get you both settled,” Diane told them. “Yes, I know they are right, but I really don’t want to take anything. I will just lie down, not get up,” Rose whined. Matthew, taking on his ‘Uncle’ role, told her, “Rose, come on, you wore yourself out yesterday. And you, well, you not think about Lucien’s disappearance? I know for a fact you cannot do that. Too many ideas dancing in your head. Get some more sleep tonight. I am going to need your brain power next week,” Matthew told his niece, thinking that was the end of the conversation with Diane. 

And then Diane turned to Matthew, “Gus has orders for you as well, Matthew, for your leg pain and leg swelling. He had you take a pain killer this afternoon, wants you on it tonight, also an anti-inflammatory, and then some sleep medication. You need to rest the leg, elevate it and I am to pack the leg in cold compresses and wrap it for you,” Diane told him. “Diane, really? You have to be kidding me. You mean if I had walked down here earlier today and got into my own pill stash, this would not be happening?” “Matthew, I seriously doubt it. You have been in Gus’ crosshairs for several days, probably since you were here last Saturday. So let’s get started on this, need to get the swelling under control,” Diane told them. 

Diane continued, “Matthew and Rose, did you know that Gus is an inventor, has several patents for braces designed for his patients who have injuries similar to yours, Matthew? He constructs unique braces to help stabilize the leg, make walking easier for his patients. I think he will talk with you in the morning about letting him design one for you, probably show you and Alice his workshop. He wants the leg swelling to decrease before he takes initial measurements, starts thinking about what he can design,” Diane told them. 

“I had no idea, Diane. And I was kidding him this afternoon about not being a physician, just a bone man. I need to apologize, I do, Diane. I will do just that in the morning,” Rose told her. Once Diane was finished with Matthew’s leg, both had taken their medication, she told them she would check-in every couple of hours, turned off the main lights and left a night light on for Alice. 

About midnight, Alice and James returned to the POW suite and walked up to Diane’s desk. Diane greeted them and Alice asked, “How are Matthew and Rose? Did they follow our orders?” “To my great surprise, Matthew handled his niece very well, talked her into taking the medication, and then I turned the tables on him. Once I told him about Gus and his innovative brace designs, he fell into line very easily. I think you will be impressed with Gus’ design shop as well.” “Alice, when you three want breakfast, just press the call button and either Carol or I will bring the trays down. The food will be here after 6 AM,” Diane told her. “Thank you, Diane. Goodnight,” Alice said as she walked down the hallway.

James stayed to talk with Diane. “Diane, Hannam is no better, no worse than before the alternative medication we started about 12 hours ago. He can’t handle much more of the high fever – he has had the elevated temperature for days, at least five that we know of. How are Jean and Lucien doing?” “James, I have checked on them every hour, at first they were just talking, some laughter, then holding each other, Lucien was sobbing at times, then Jean, but last hourly check they were both quiet. Why don’t you stick your head in and check on them now?” Diane told him. 

Walking up to Aaron’s room first, James looked in and discovered he was sleeping, quiet, but had kicked the covers off. James pulled them up over him once again without waking him up. Then he walked to Jean and Lucien’s room, carefully opened the door, and found Jean sleeping in Lucien’s arms and Lucien looking at her. He was smiling at her, kissing her face, wiping some tears from his eyes. “Major, are you alright? Need anything?” “James, I am memorizing my love’s face, her hair, her smell, everything about her. I am so lucky, so loved, so happy. Don’t need a thing. Good night, James,” Lucien told him. “Yes, see you in the morning. Got a birthday party to set up, don’t we?” The Major nodded his head in agreement.

“Are you going home? Staying up here with me?” Diane asked James. “How about I stay with you, drink some tea, chat about the afternoon conversation with Lucien’s group session. Heard it ranged from simple chatter to very intense. The Major tried his best to crawl into his dark hole, once again. I am encouraged that Lucien and Jean are still together, in bed, tonight,” James told her. “Yes, James, Carol said he slipped away from them so fast she could hardly believe it. Alice and Richard were just beginning to work with him, then Gus walked in, helped him begin to talk. He told him some of what happened when he was abducted. Bill returned with the group session fellows and they will start the hunt this morning trying to figure out where he entered the field outside of Ballarat,” Diane told him. “Here is Lucien’s chart, several different people recorded their impressions from this afternoon. I know Jean was in bed with him afterwards and he was sketching, talking, crying. By the time I arrived, he was doing much better. But James, keep an eye on Jean. Richard does not want her to carry too much of the load. Here is your tea, James. Remember to get some sleep, alright?” 

Hours later, the Call button from the suite was pressed. Carol answered the call and asked, “Ready for breakfast you three? Gus and I will bring it down to you.” Rose asked Alice, “So, Gus is already here, why?“ “I imagine he will explain when he sees us,” Alice said to the group. 

Rose opened the door, Carol and Gus rolled a cart into the room with the food. Gus invited himself to eat with them. Rose looked at Gus, smiled at him, stood up, and said, “Gus, my apologies. Yesterday I playfully said I was waiting for a physician – um and both you and Aaron were sitting there talking with me. I was out of line, I am sorry. I know full well that you are a talented surgeon, have done remarkable work with both Lucien and Aaron. I am so sorry,” as she offered her hand. “Rose, I did not take your comments the way you thought I did. I totally enjoyed the time I spent with you and Aaron yesterday. The banter was light, fun, relaxing, and I hope we have time to chat like that again. Perhaps at the Blake Christmas gathering?” Gus replied. “Yes, Gus, that sounds good to me.”

As the four of them were eating breakfast, Alice asked, ”Why are you here so early, Gus?” “Well, another bad night on the roads. Had three teenagers with broken lower legs, and another one with a broken femur. Of course the earlier the phone call, the more complicated the repair. There were two of us called in, helped each other with the surgeries. I think we did good repairs for them. Hate to see this happen to someone so young. Came up here to catch a few hours of sleep, talk with your folks, and then will take a nap later this morning. I have a birthday party to attend this afternoon,” Gus said, with a smile.

“Matthew and Alice, I would like to show you my shop. I know Diane told you about my inventor’s passion. Matthew, I would like you to consider my offer of a brace for your leg. I know Lucien and Hugh Masterson did a crack job of saving your leg, repairing the damage as best they could. But you suffered a traumatic injury to your leg. I think I can help you. Come with me, if this interests you, we will talk more about it. The way the leg looks this morning, Diane’s notes from last evening, I think we are maybe a month or so away from getting it built the way I want it, to give you the most relief,” Gus told them. 

“Gus, you would do that for me?” Matthew asked, still in disbelief at the offer. “Yes, of course. Carol has a wheelchair outside the room for you. It is a long walk, one that will totally wear you out for this afternoon’s festivities. I’ll push you, Alice please come with us,” Gus told the two of them. Rose gave her uncle a hug, and said, “Take him up on it, Uncle Matthew. I am staying here and want to see how Aaron is this morning.”

Carol knocked on the Blake room and asked if they wanted anything. Lucien said, “Yes, some food. We are both hungry.” “Will be right back, you two. Get some clothes on. Richard is eager to talk with you.” When Carol returned with breakfast, Richard walked in with her. Richard looked at them, grinned and said, “Morning Major and Jean. Glad to see you are both smiling, ready to face me this morning. Jean, let’s get your input about last night. How did you do?” “Richard, we talked a long time, about the afternoon, what happened, how he worked his way out of the dark hole, what we are going to do it this happens again, which we know will occur, and then just held each other. Lucien fell asleep first, then after listening to him snore awhile, I must have fallen asleep as well. Later, I found myself in his arms, and we um “ “Enough Jean, Richard doesn’t need to know everything we did,” Lucien told her, looking into her eyes, smiling at her, pushing her hair back from her eyes. Then he kissed her, passionately. “Lucien Blake, did you forget who is here?”

“Major, talk to me about last night.” “Richard, I am lucky I have my gal to help me, I know that. But I want you to help us as well. Can’t pile too much on her. Need to carry some of the load myself, and let you help me. You have to see my sketches from yesterday afternoon and what I wrote in my journal. Will show you that later today. Talking to my Jeannie pulled me up and out. She has done that several times before. When Jean talks to me, she is straight on, tells me the truth, makes me face it, like she did in Ballarat when I first came back. I am going to beat this, Richard. I am. I must. Can’t lose my gal.” 

“So tell me about the rest of the morning. What do you want to do, Major?” “Um well, I want to clean up, put on some good clothes for this afternoon’s party for Little Blake. Probably need to do my therapy. Did you know I am going to start aquatic therapy tomorrow? Gus wants to do as much as he can for my knee, get the swelling down, more mobility, before I go home before Christmas. He will wear me out, but that is fine with me. Need to get home. Got to decorate the trees, get presents, want Jean to cook my favorite lamb dinner, my chocolate ganache cake, want to be in our bed,” Lucien told him, wandering from topic to topic, almost in a stream of consciousness vein. “Major, you have a full morning planned, let’s slow down a bit, alright?” “Sounded a bit manic didn’t I?” “Yes, you did Lucien,” Jean told him. 

“Let’s walk to our room and get into the shower, let you trim your beard, comb your hair. Alright, Lucien?” Jean asked him. “Yes, of course. I do remember how to take a shower now, much better than last week. And I think I do look better as well, right?” Lucien asked. Richard told them both, “I assume you have gained some weight already. Not many people can eat two trays of food for each meal and not gain some pounds. And you do look in much better health than a week ago.”

When Jean and Lucien exited the shower, they found James sitting in one of the easy chairs, reading Lucien’s chart. “James, I didn’t know you were on the floor already,” Lucien told him. “I was sleeping in the lounge, too lazy to drive home and them come back first thing this morning. I know Richard has talked with both of you already, and I would like to do a medical check. Is that alright, Major?” James asked. “Do what you need to, James. Will just delay my therapy, and that is fine. I know Gus will be up here soon to check my knee. Did you know he has Matthew and Alice in his design shop this morning?” Lucien told him, grinning at James. 

After James had finished his examination of Lucien, he began to chat with him. “Major, you continue to improve. Neurological testing is better, knee swelling is less today, vitals are stable, your skull is not as tender, ear infection is clearing. Medically speaking, you are on the mend. One thing that is a bit off is your blood pressure – it is lower than normal this morning. Will need to keep an eye on it as the drug concentrations continue to decline. May have to adjust the medication we have you on. Will get the drug concentrations and testosterone levels on Monday or Tuesday.” 

Carol walked in as James was finishing up and began to work on Lucien’s neck and knee. She started with lotion on his back, and then worked with his neck and shoulders before she packed them in cold compresses. Then to his legs and knees. Lucien was beginning to moan and complain some when Gus walked in, pushing Matthew in the wheelchair. “Blake, quit your griping. If you get too noisy, I will take over from Carol and I know you will up the volume considerably,” Gus told him with a grin. “You know Gus, I hate that grin you develop before you put your hands on my knee, to see how it is, so you say, but in reality you just want to see if you can make me tear up. Not going to this morning,” Lucien told him. “My knee is better. Well, I think so.”

“Blake, Gus took Alice and me to the design shop this morning. My goodness, the braces are lightweight, give mobility yet will keep me from straining my leg. I have asked him to think about what type of brace might give me the most support. How are you and Jean doing this morning? Make it through the night without any issues?” Matthew asked. “Matthew, we did fine. Surprised us both. Ready for Little Blake’s party this afternoon?” Lucien asked his good friend. “Yes, got our presents all wrapped, and Mattie brought in some supplies already – of course without the kids. Joseph will bring them in soon. She gave me this very large bow for you to wear. I understand you are Blake’s present, that is all he has requested for his birthday. Of course, there is plenty of food, a cake, hats, balloons, and more food,” Matthew updated him on the party planning.

Meanwhile, in Ballarat, Bill met Peter Crowe at the station early Sunday morning. They had a great deal to talk about before they met the search group. Bill told Peter about what they already knew, what they were looking for, and how to help manage a group of eager volunteers. They packed several canteens of water to take with them, some food, packed their ruck sacks, and got ready to drive out to the area where Lucien’s car was discovered over two years ago. The Group Session participants met them, and they had been up early as well, talking, planning. They had continued to work on their composite map, based on Saturday afternoon’s discussion with Blake. 

“Mates, a reminder today, to watch each other’s back, be careful where you step, don’t need any sprained ankles, and see something, say something to Peter or me. Let’s get this search party underway,” Bill told them. Vincent said, “Bill, can I start? Listen you lot, we have been thinking about what Dr. B told us yesterday. The cut fence. Doesn’t make any sense where we are right now does it? Look around – there is no fence to cut, is there? Never has been in my memory. Asked everyone else last night and no one can remember anything like a fence here. So, I came out here early this morning and drove both west and east along the road looking for a fence to cut, or one that has been recently cut, say in the last couple of years. And, I found an area, really over grown now, that was cut – back about two kilometres from here. We assumed where we found the car was where the Doc got out of the car. But, that may not be the case. Maybe he got out back down the road and someone moved the car to here? I don’t know. Come look at this with me.” 

As they drove to the proposed new starting place, Bill got out his notes. When they stopped at the location, Bill told them, “Alright, beyond the cut fence we need to think about this - Lucien said they slept rough in something like a dug out. So we need to think about dug outs or other sleeping areas near this field. Is that a possibility or do we need to go on further?” Cliff said, “If we are in old man Jones field, which is where I think we are, then up the fence line is a place, about two or three kilometres or so. Could be just what we are looking for, Bill.” 

Peter asked the group, “Everyone have a couple canteens of water? Hats? You know it is supposed to be hot and sunny today. Don’t want anyone getting overheated.” “Young man, we all remembered what the Doc told us yesterday. We have water, as well as ruck sacks with food, hats. We got it covered,” Arnie told him.

The fence had been cut, just as Vincent had proposed, but now it was rusty from age, overgrown with vines. The group stepped over the vines and entered the field, staying along the fence line like Lucien told them. It was a difficult walk, nearly two or three kilometres up the fence line. They found an area to sleep, pretty rough, just a hole dug into a hillside. Would probably hold a couple of men, and others could sleep on the ground nearby. That seemed to match Lucien’s description of where he was the first night. 

Bill told them, “Alright, now we need to take a break and then we begin to look around this area for something that might indicate the Doc was here. I got a feeling he left clues, evidence if he could. So could be something buried in the ground, something from his pocket, remember he told us they made him leave his pocket watch somewhere along this trail.” Bill and Peter divided them up into teams of two and assigned an area to each group. It was not long before Arnie yelled, “Oh my God! Bill.”

“Peter, Bill, come look at this will you. Was this a person?” Arnie asked, with a shaky voice. He had discovered the skeletal remains of someone. Bill walked up to the body and saw dog tags around the neck. He carefully pulled them up with a stick and looked at them. ‘LR Blake’ was engraved on the tags. Obviously it was not Lucien Blake. So, who was this guy? Bill thought to himself, thank goodness we did not find this fellow two years ago. We could have given up hope for Lucien – except, wait a minute, this skeleton is too slightly built to be Lucien. He is a bigger man than this guy. He saw a bullet hole in the back of the skull. They marked the location of the remains and Peter looked around to see what else he could find. Then he pulled a cloth from his ruck sack, secured it with some stakes. 

“When will Dr. Harvey be back in town? We need to get her here, help with the removal of the remains, really look for any evidence, personal effects. Hard to imagine any much remaining since it has been over two years since this probably happened. But maybe we get lucky,” Peter told Bill. “Peter, Matthew and Alice return this afternoon about dinner time. And you know we need to see if any missing person reports might match the size of this bloke, been gone about 2-3 years.” Bill told him. 

“Doc told us they started with four people and then the next morning there were three. I know Dr. Harvey will help us figure that mystery out. It looks to me that this person was shot, maybe execution style. What in the world did the Doc get involved with?” Bill asked the group. There was no answer. Bill continued thinking and then pulled his notes out. 

Thinking to himself, Bill remembered the idea that Jean suggested the other evening. That passport with George Linemann’s name on it, his photograph, in Australia end of August 1962, never left, well at least on that passport. And now, could this be him? Would certainly explain why he never left the country using it. Is Jean right? She may well be. Hope Boss and Dr. Harvey want to come out here when they return to Ballarat this evening. Well, maybe not the Boss, too much walking to get to this location, but I will bring Dr. Harvey here. Bill looked at his watch and noticed it was about 12:30. He smiled to himself, remembering that was the time for the birthday party was to start. If the Doc had not remembered so much yesterday afternoon, he would be there right now, eating birthday cake, instead of being really hot. 

Blake’s fourth birthday party started about 12:30 with as many of the POW grant group in attendance as were able to come. Blake ran down the hallway looking for his Uncle Lucien, and once again could not find him in his room. He ran out of the room, looked up and down the hallway, and Carol asked, “Can I help you Master Blake?” “Yes, you can. What did you do with my Uncle?” “I think he is in the first room on the left, just down the hallway. Do you want me to help you find it?” “No, I can do it.” 

As he half ran, half walked into the room, Blake saw the crowd of adults standing around a table, talking and laughing at what? He saw Gus and ran up to him, and asked, “Where is Uncle Lucien, Dr. Gus?” Gus quickly picked him up and let him see over the group and there in the center, sitting in a chair with his knee propped up, sat his Uncle Lucien, with a bow tie on that was the biggest . . . “Uncle Lucien, you are my present, aren’t you?” “Yes, I am, Blake. Come here and sit on my lap will you?” Gus walked through the crowd, placed Blake on Lucien’s lap, and the birthday boy buried his face into Lucien’s shoulder. “Thank you for coming back for my birthday.” Lucien held him and whispered into his ear, “Blake, I love you. I am so sorry I missed two of your birthdays. What do you want me to read to you?”

The party slowed down after a couple of hours, and Matthew, Alice and Rose began to say their good byes. Charlie and Danny went to the suite to get the luggage, Danny would drive them to the depot and Charlie would accompany them back to Ballarat. 

Alice walked up to Lucien, put her hand on his shoulder, smiled at him, and said, “You will behave, Lucien, correct?” “Yes, of course I will, Alice.” “No, I mean _really_ behave yourself,” she said, pointing a finger at him. Lucien grinned back at her. Then, Carol answered Alice, “Dr. Harvey, he has no choice. Diane and I will make him follow your orders.” Gus walked up to Matthew, placed his hand on his shoulder, “You are to call in every two days, talk to Carol or Diane, let them know how the leg is doing.” ‘Yes, I will. Thank you Gus for um thinking about a brace for my leg,” Matthew told him. “My pleasure, Matthew. You take your medications, let Alice or Rose help you with wrapping your leg, right?” Gus reminded him. “Yes, Gus, he will follow your orders,” Alice told him. “James and Hugh, going to come to Ballarat this week?” Alice asked. “Yes we are. We can be away from our Major for a day at a time now,” James said.

Jean looked at Alice, and said very simply, with feeling, “Alice, Thank you for coming. I have so enjoyed the time we got to spend together, your friendship is very important to me.” “My dear friend, Jean, I have enjoyed this weekend as well. Won’t be long before you will be home. I am looking forward to that day – probably as much as you are. Remember to take care of yourself, alright?” Alice told her. 

“Where is Rose?” Danny asked. Rose heard her name and ran back to join the group. “Saying good bye to Aaron. Party noise was too much for him.“ Then the group were off to the depot, not realizing what they would discover on their return to Ballarat.

Arnie began thinking out loud. “We need another place to sleep – And if it is the last place before he blacked out, then perhaps a vehicle picked them up. The only place I can think of with a loading ramp that is close to a cabin is Henderson’s loading dock. As I remember, it is northeast of here about five - six kilometres. There is a cabin up there. Let’s head that way, keep marking the route so we can get back here to the body.” Again their route was along fence lines, sometimes difficult terrain. Vincent said, while wiping the sweat off his brow, “I can see why Blake told us about being hot, thirsty. This is pretty brutal out here right now.” 

When they finally reached the area, Arnie was spot on. There was a good sleeping area, an older shack, well maintained, good roof on it. And it was just a short walk to Henderson’s loading ramps, which they could see in the distance. 

Bill and Peter entered the shack, pulled out their torches and started looking around. After fifteen minutes of moving stuff around, Bill found a package, fairly soft, somewhat newer looking compared to the other odds and ends lying around, covered up under a pile of debris, and he opened it up. Just as Lucien had described, the package contained his suit, waistcoat, shirt and tie, watch, belt. Bill remembered him wearing the suit, checked the labels. It was made in Hong Kong. He told the group waiting outside, “I am pretty certain we have found the Doc’s clothing and watch. He was here.” 

“You lot, look around the area, into groups of two once again. Walk the area slowly, find anything, let Peter or me know. I am going to go through the Doc’s suit and see what clues he left in it for us. Going to take the watch to the station, look for finger prints, and then to the jeweler to get it spruced up to give to him next week. Let’s take a water and food break here as well. Been a long, but productive day, hasn’t it?” Bill asked the group. Cliff said, “You know Hobart, I did not think we um – well, when Dr. B left we looked for days and days and found nothing to help us. Now today, look at what we have discovered and we are not finished yet. Still need to talk to Henderson. You gonna call the Doc tonight and tell him?” “I think I need to ask Matthew first, and then if he says I can, I will make that call,” Bill told him with a grin. 

They continued walking to the loading ramp that was just up the hill and discovered an area, where you could back a Ute or a larger vehicle in easily. It was also protected from the road and no one could see what was going on there. 

Just up the road a kilometre or so was Henderson’s house. The group headed that way, still talking about what they had discovered, excited that they were a part of the search party once again, but so hot, thirsty, and dusty. Bill and Peter approached the house, knocked on the door, and Henderson came outside. Bill had been at this house on Monday. This was the bloke that Rose had considered a bit dodgy – his interview with her was not solid. Bill had confirmed her suspicions but had to leave for Melbourne on Tuesday and did not follow up on it. And here he was again. Looking at Henderson, Bill was wondering if this interview would yield any new information. 

“I need to talk to you about your loading area,” Bill began. He pressed Henderson again on events two years ago. “Anyone want to use your ramp, but did not want to load sheep?” This time Henderson did not evade him. “Um, Yes, Hobart, Yes, there were three blokes here, paid me to keep my mouth shut.” “What are you saying? Why didn’t you tell us that before?” Bill asked him, his voice sounding somewhat peeved, getting angry. “I um just didn’t tell you. That lady reporter – she knew that I was not telling the truth, not to trust me, and she was right. My step son Jake has talked to me this week about me being stupid about not talking to you Bill, that I probably broke the law, and um – I will tell you what I know now,” Henderson told the group. 

Arnie, Cliff and Vincent gathered around each other and started talking. Each of them shook their heads in disbelief. “How many stories did Rose run in the paper about this? And Henderson said absolutely nothing. And Dr. B. went through Hell because of this,” Arnie angrily spit out. Cliff placed his arms around him, trying to calm him down. “Arnie, we all feel this way. We do. Henderson is just an old fool, confirmed it this afternoon, didn’t he?” Vincent told the group.

Then Bill pulled out the pictures he brought with him in his ruck sack. Bill showed him a picture of Robert Hannam. “Going to show you some pictures. You tell me if they were here. Don’t want you to lie to me, understand?” Henderson nodded that he realized Bill was serious, just about had it with him. “What about this fellow?” “Yes, that was one of them.” The next picture he showed him was Lucien Blake. “What about him?” “Oh no, that is Dr. Blake. He was not part of that lot. Is he still missing?” “Yes he is! And you bloody well know that fact, don’t you, Henderson,” Cliff told him, sounding even angrier than Bill. 

Charlie had given him a picture of the Mystery Man so Bill showed it next and asked, “What about this bloke?” “Yes, that is another one of them. Never said nothing, but looked mean, angry.” Bill had a picture of Hugh and handed it to Henderson. “What about this bloke?” “No, not him. Never seen him ever.” The last picture Bill showed him was a picture of Aaron Gage. “What about this guy?“ “No, not him.” 

“Um Bill, wait. Um, there was one other guy. Do you have another picture for me to look at?” Henderson asked. Bill had a copy of the passport with the George Linemann name on it. “I have a picture, but it is not as large as these other ones. Here it is. See what you think.” Henderson looked at it and then said, “Yes, that is the bloke who gave me the package of money. He never said nothing, just handed me the money.” 

Henderson continued telling them, “First guy did the talking. Second and third men never said anything to me. You know I never did spend the money that they gave me. Would you take it from me? I never felt good about taking it. Is this tied to the Doc’s disappearance?” “It may be. We will need to talk with you again. Keep thinking about what happened and write down what you remember. It is very important. I will talk with you again,” Bill told him. He got a bag from his ruck sack and put the money in it. Maybe fingerprints on it? He would test it as soon as they were back at the station. Long shot, but why not. We need a break here, we really do. 

“Will you arrest me for what I didn’t tell you, Bill? Um, well, there is one more thing I maybe should tell you lot,” Henderson said. “Someone stole my Ute around the night of Sept 27-28. Never reported it. Thought it was probably the three of them. They did not tell me they were going to steal my vehicle. Didn’t know it was part of the deal. Taking the money opened me up to what Bill? But they seemed like a strange lot, could hurt me, bad you know?” Bill asked for the license plate number of the Ute and Henderson gave it to him. 

“Bill, I don’t want it back, I don’t. Will just be a reminder of the terrible thing I did to the Doc. He did not deserve this, he did not,” Henderson told them, seeming to finally realize what events he set in motion.


	30. The Field

Chapter 30 The Field

With an uncharacteristic bite to his voice, Peter told Henderson, “Let me use your telephone. Now.” “Yes, of course, Constable Crowe.” He called the station and was told Matthew was arriving at the depot in about 30 minutes. “Go to the depot and tell them to wait for Bill and me there. If Danny or Charlie are with them, don’t let them leave either. Do it now!” Peter explained very quickly to one of his fellow constables. Bill borrowed Henderson’s older farm vehicle and they were off to Ballarat to connect with Matthew. The rest of the search crew walked back to the loading docks to await the return of Bill, Peter, and probably Matthew and Alice as well. They could not stand the sight of Henderson and were glad they got away from him. 

Charlie accompanied Matthew, Alice and Rose on the train back to Ballarat. He was helping them unload their luggage, looking forward to catching the next train back to Melbourne. Two constables immediately surrounded the group, beginning to explain that Bill and Peter had to talk to all to them. When Bill and Peter saw the group, they started running towards them. Bill yelled, “Charlie, we need to talk. Don’t get on the train. We need to talk.” 

“Bill, what is going on?” Charlie asked. “Let’s get in the cars and go to the Blake house. We can talk there, use the telephone to call James and Danny. Once they were safely inside the house and sitting around the kitchen table, Bill sketched out their discoveries – the location of _the field_ , the sleeping areas, the skeleton, the clothing, Henderson’s confession. Matthew told the group, “Several hours more of light. Let’s get back to the sites. Who is there now?” Bill quickly answered, “Several constables and our volunteers, Cliff, Arnie and Vincent, are still there. We need to take water and hats. Boss, I was thinking that Charlie, Arnie, Alice and I would return to the human remains and you, Rose and Peter could go to the loading docks.” “That is a good plan, Bill. We need to get out of these clothes. Give us a few minutes,” Matthew said, as he followed Alice to their bedroom. Charlie said, “Rose, where is the secure telephone line? Let me call James and Danny and tell them we are here and sketch out what was discovered today. Then we can call back later this evening once we have all had some time to see the evidence and think about it.”

While Matthew, Alice and Rose changed clothing, Charlie called on the secure line to the nurse’s station. “Carol, this is Charlie. Need to talk with Danny or James. Tell me that one of them is there now, please.” “Yes, Charlie, they are both here. Danny, it is Charlie.” As she handed the telephone to Danny, he motioned to James to join him. “What is going on Charlie?” “Danny, move to the small room, have Carol transfer the call there,” Charlie told him. “Alright Charlie, this is James. We are in the small room, speaker is on.” Charlie began, “You will never believe what happened up here today. Bottom line, major breakthroughs, including the skeletal remains of a murder victim, photo identification of three people who took the Doc. We are all going out there now. Will call you later tonight. I think you and Danny need to drive up here first thing in the morning. Someone needs to be with the Doc when we call again. Talk with you later.” “Yes, Charlie, understood about the Major. I will make certain the POW team is here later this evening. I will think about how much to tell Jean and the Major at this point in time. Danny and I will make plans to drive up in the morning,” James told him.

Peter, Matthew, Rose, Cliff, Vincent, and two constables were assigned the area around the cabin and Henderson’s loading docks to look for evidence. Very quickly, Rose found a place away from the cabin that someone had been tied to a fence post, perhaps, handcuffed to it? “Found something, Peter.” She called to Peter to come look at the interesting damage to the post. Then, Rose found a strange little mound of dirt within an arm’s reach of the post. What was that? She carefully got into it and found a receipt from 9.26.62 for flowers from a flower shop in Ballarat. The receipt was in a wrapper of some sort, placed inside a small bag. What on earth went on here? Was Lucien here? It certainly looked that way to her. How did he bury this if he was in handcuffs? Well, maybe he was tied with rope?

Matthew, Cliff and Vincent were inside the cabin looking at the piles of stuff. Matthew told them, “Mates, this is going to take long time. Let’s work just in this area here tonight, and see what we find. For the next few days, I will assign some of my constables to unpack this building. Could be important or just random items. If Blake was in here, he might have left us some clues, like he did outside.” “You know Matthew, Rose will never let us forget that she was first in finding evidence here,” Cliff said with a grin. “You know my niece don’t you, Cliff?”

Alice, Charlie, Arnie and Bill walked to the location of the skeletal remains. A couple of constables brought a portable stretcher to place the body on. Alice told Bill, “I understand now why you told me to bring water and wear a hat. It’s brutal out here.” Alice approached the remains and asked, “Still in the same position as when you discovered it Arnie?” “Yes, ma’am, Dr. Harvey, it is. Bill found the dog tags on it but we did not remove them. Says, um ‘LR Blake.’ Can’t be him.” Alice looked closely and confirmed the execution style killing, saw the dog tags. “Probably at close range, we will be lucky to find any bullet casings at this point in time. Perhaps we will find something underneath the body,” Alice told the group. 

Bill and Charlie looked carefully for the gun casing, checked around the body. Didn’t find anything. “We need to look again tomorrow when there is more light,” Bill said. Alice asked them to carefully lift the remains onto the stretcher, cover it with the cloth, secure it, and the constables began the long walk back to the vehicles. Alice and Charlie began looking underneath the body and Alice found evidence that Lucien Blake was there. She discovered a receipt dated 9.24.62 for medical supplies for his surgery, It looked to her that he had carefully placed it under the body, it was not waterlogged, protected in a small bag. Clearly, he was not drugged out of his mind at this point in time. He had thought about leaving a trail of crumbs for them to work with. But the problem was this – This field was just not the place they looked for him over two years ago. Thank goodness, he talked about the cut fence and Bill, Cliff, Arnie and Vincent figured out where to begin their search this morning. 

Meanwhile Sunday afternoon after the group left for Ballarat, Jean and Lucien remained in the party room, talking with Gus, Joseph and Mattie. Lucien was holding Jenny and Blake was still excited, chattering on about the gifts he received, beyond his Uncle Lucien. He was showing Lucien and Jean the books and puzzles he received for about the fifth time. 

The most intriguing gift was from Gus. Gus had Blake sitting at a table with him and was explaining how to decide what to build with his new erector set. They both were grinning, showing looks of pure delight. Joseph asked Gus, “Did you get this for my son or for yourself, Gus?” “Got it for us to use at the Blake house during the holidays, I think,” Gus said, as he reached for Little Blake’s hand to help him. “Dr. Gus, thank you so much.”

Joseph said to Blake, “It is getting late and we need to pack up everything and head home, Blake.” Blake looked at his father and pleaded, “Can I ask Uncle Lucien one more thing? Please, Daddy.” “Of course.” “Uncle Lucien, can I sit on your lap again and will you read me another story?” Jean handed Lucien a book, took Jenny from him, and he began to read to Blake, along with silly additions and changes to the story. Blake corrected him a couple of times, just beamed at him and then said, “Uncle Lucien, that was pretty good. Not as good as I remember but not bad.” Lucien looked at Blake and told him, “You are one precocious little chap aren’t you?” “Yes, my Daddy has told me that already, so has Uncle Richard and my Grandpa Martin,” Blake told him. The last comment brought laughter from the adults. Lucien gave him a final hug and told Blake to come back next week. 

Jean and Lucien made their way back to his room and he quickly got into bed. Carol entered to ask if he wanted anything. “Carol, put my birthday bow somewhere safe and could you pack my neck and shoulders, my knee? I am really feeling tired.” Gus wandered into the room, looking at Lucien and Jean, said, “Well, quite a young man there. I know we will all enjoy the erector set and helping him build new-fangled inventions. Blake, let me check your knee before Carol packs it, alright?” “Gus, do whatever. I am so bloody tired, I will probably fall asleep while you are working with it,” Lucien told him, barely able to muster a grin.

Before either Carol or Gus were finished with their tasks, Lucien was asleep. “Carol, please check him. Be certain nothing is going on, alright?” “Jean, any ideas from you on this sleepy spell?” “Gus, we have had visitors from early Friday morning, I know of only one afternoon nap and that was on Friday – when Richard and Alice forced him to lie down, add in the revelations from Saturday afternoon, well, it makes me tired just to think of how busy the last few days have been. I was going to lay down with him, but now I will get myself some tea, sit in the lounge, relax for a while.” “Want some company?” “Certainly, Gus.”

Carol took Lucien’s vitals, found nothing out of the ordinary, made her patient notes, and told Gus and Jean, “He seems alright. I will alert James and Richard to what happened. I know they are both coming back for dinner. I have their menu preferences, let me get what you and the Major would like to eat, Jean.” “Yes, thank you Carol. Gus, going to eat with us?” Jean asked. “Why not? Let me see what you have on the menu, Carol. Jean, let’s go the lounge. Put our feet up awhile.” 

After checking on Aaron and finding him asleep, Gus and Jean walked to the lounge, each sat in a different couch so they could stretch out. “Jean, I am going to ask Aaron to help Blake with his aquatic therapy next week. I think they will both benefit from the doing exercises on their neck and shoulder and Aaron can play the taskmaster for Lucien’s knee. What do you think?” Gus asked her. “Yes, Gus, good idea for both of them. As they recover, they are going to go stir crazy up here, if we don’t have some task for them to do. Is Lucien still on track, physically, to come home next week?” Jean asked, looking at him, hoping he thought the same way as Richard. “Yes, let’s get both of them out of here for the holidays. I know Aaron is going home with you. Glad you invited him. Doesn’t need to be by himself. What about yours truly crashing your ‘Welcome Home Lucien Christmas 1964 Gathering’ – Jean, got enough room for me as well? I want to play with my new erector set,” Gus laughed as he asked her. “Of course, please come, and if there is not enough room at the house then you can stay at the cabin, Gus.”

Noticing that Jean’s lower lip was quivering a bit, Gus asked her, “Jean, haven’t seen your lip do that thing in a while. You doing alright?” “Gus, I um just thinking about the fellows in Ballarat, the initial search for Lucien, so stressful, seemed so fruitless at times to me, got so desperate, my thinking went so negative. What do you suppose is going on?” “Jean, I know that Charlie talked to James and Danny earlier this afternoon. They will call us again when they have something specific to report. I figure that Charlie, Matthew, Rose and Alice have joined Bill and his troops, and will work until dark,” Gus told her. 

As the darkness began to descend on the search party, Bill asked, “Boss, do you want constables stationed at the loading dock and where the body was discovered overnight?” Once Matthew had determined who was going to take the first shift, who would take food and water to the constables, the rest of the search party drove back to the Blake House. They drove up to find several cars parked in the driveway. Allie, Ella and Kate were inside, preparing sandwiches, cold salads, drinks, biscuits, fruit for everyone. Cliff had called from Henderson’s place earlier and updated Allie on what time they would be finished. Allie told him they would have food at the Blake kitchen for everyone. When everyone walked in, they split up heading for sinks to wash up, some even using the hose near the sunroom. “You all look so hot, tired. Lots of cold food to choose from on the table. Spread yourselves out in the house or outside,” Allie told the group. Matthew told the group, “Let’s eat, cool off some, then plan our telephone call to hospital. Alice you need to help us figure out how much to share with Blake.”

The smell of food seemed to attract a large number of folks towards the nurse’s station near Lucien’s room. Diane was glad she had ordered several additional meals for the crowd. Initially James, Danny and Hugh showed up and began talking by her desk. Then Aaron and Richard joined them, and finally Jean and Gus walked up. Gus was still telling tales about the birthday party, the erector set, and the stories that Lucien had concocted for Little Blake. At times he erupted into gales of laughter. 

Lucien woke up about 7 PM to the increasing noise in the hallway. He realized he was in bed, without Jean, somewhat disoriented. He began thinking – birthday party was over, everyone left, Jean and he walked to this room, he asked Carol to pack his knee and neck, and then maybe Gus came in, but dark after that. Hoped that Jean would lie down with me, but I um must have just crashed before she had a chance. Didn’t realize I was so bloody tired. He saw Jean look into the room, she had that gorgeous smile of hers and he smiled back at her, shook his head, put his hand behind his head, and she walked in. “Jeannie, I um –“ “Yes you did, my handsome boy. Fell asleep so quickly. The group is ready to eat dinner with you. Do you want company?” Jean told him as she took his hand, brought it to her mouth and kissed it. “Yes, I am waking up. Need to use the loo. Will be ready to eat then,” Lucien told her as he began to get out of the bed. James saw him moving around and walked in, “Major, what do you need?” “Someone to steady me as I walk to the loo, please, James.”

When James and Lucien returned, Diane had the food in the room and everyone was settling in, trays on tables or on their laps, and talking about the afternoon’s party. “Major, you have quite a namesake in Blake. Good party and I imagine he wore you down faster than you would have imagined,” Hugh told him. “Yes, Hugh he did wear me down. I read at least five books to him, made up stuff as fast I could, taxed my brain I imagine,” Lucien told the group, as he quickly finished the first plate of food. Diane gave him the second plate and he said, “Thank you Jean and Diane for good food choices tonight. I am still so hungry. And you know I have only gained a couple of pounds so far.” 

Gus asked, “Can we talk about the therapy tomorrow, Blake? I have an idea I want you to think about. We have the pool ready to use, temperature is warming up, have a way to help you get in and out of it safely. I want someone to help you with the exercises, keep an eye on you. I asked Aaron this afternoon if he would consider this job. He seems sharp enough to me to follow orders –“ Gus finished with a laugh. Aaron looked at Gus and Lucien and grinned at them, “So do you think I can handle you, Dr. Blake?” “Yes, I do, Aaron. You seem like a smart enough chap. We will both appreciate some time away from these rooms, in warm water, would help both of our neck and shoulder issues as well. Need to keep the water out of my ears, so no splashing around,” Lucien chuckled as he looked at Aaron. 

“Do you have swim trunks, Aaron?” Lucien asked. “Yes, Danny made a run to my place this afternoon and got me some more clothing, including my swim trunks, my mail, watered my plants. I am good for another week here in hospital, I think. I do appreciate the chance to do something, still can’t read or listen to wireless. Noise this afternoon ran me in here once again. Richard, when will the noise stop being such an issue with me? Or are you going to tell me everyone is different?” Aaron said. “Aaron, you have been here eight days. Still early times, my friend,” Richard told him. “Of course. So long as I get to go home with Jean and Lucien. Don’t want to stay here by myself,” Aaron told them. “Aaron, you are coming home with me. Do not worry about it,” Jean told him. 

“Major, let me update you on Hannam. He has been on the medication that Paul and his colleagues suggested for about 30 hours. So far, no worse, perhaps the fever is moderating some. Obviously still on the critical list. Do you want to go with me on Monday morning to see him? Either Hugh or I will take you there,” James asked him. “Yes, of course, I would like to see him. Yes, please remember that I want to see him,” Lucien told them, but was very quickly shaking his head, talking to himself. 

“Talk to me, Major. What are you thinking about?” Richard asked, taking his hand, holding it, tilting his head so he could look into his eyes. Jean joined Richard and very quickly said, “No way, don’t you dare slide into the dark hole, do you hear me Lucien Blake?” Lucien looked at the two of them. “Yes, I heard the two of you, loud and clear. Yes. But um I don’t think I was going to – just thinking about Hannam and the first day they had me, in the field, walking, so hot, Hannam was not as bad as the other two. They were ugly, angry, um well, I did not even know who they were, why they wanted me. Third guy was gone in the morning – where did he go? Why can’t I remember that?” Lucien told the group, swallowing slowly, looking for Jean. She walked up to him, held his head, whispered in his ear. “I love you too,” Lucien told his love, kissing her. 

Jean continued, “Lucien, let me talk with you. I want this group to help you, help us. There is going to be new information we need to deal with, do you understand me? Charlie called from our house this afternoon. Bill and the group have made many discoveries today. Matthew and Alice are going back with them to the field and see the evidence. Once they are back home, they will call us and tell us more.” 

“What did you say, Jean?” “Based on your memories from yesterday about the field, the cut fence, Bill and the group have finally figured out what field you entered,” Jean explained. “Really, oh my, um well, yes – “ Lucien stumbled around and could not organize his speech, just teared up, reached for Jean’s hands. He felt Gus’ hands on his neck and back, holding him, “Blake, let us all help you and Jean. Do you hear me, my good friend?” “Yes, I do. Please hang on to us. Don’t let me slide away from my love, my Jeannie. Please, Gus.” “That’s why we are all here, Blake.”

“When do you think they will call again? Can we call now?” Lucien asked. “They need to get back to the house, get some food, and I bet later tonight they will call us,” Gus told him. Gus was right, the group in Ballarat were finishing eating, cleaning up the kitchen. “Let us know Matthew if you need us in the field tomorrow. But you need to remember that we start tomorrow on the shower remodel for Jean and Lucien. Got a deadline of Christmas Day,” Arnie said. “I will work with my constables on Monday. But Alice may need to talk with you again Arnie about the remains you discovered,” Matthew told them. “Dr. Harvey, you know where I will be. Call if you need me.” 

“We need to get our thoughts organized about how much to tell the Melbourne group. How do we want to divide this up?” Bill asked. Sitting in the kitchen with him were Charlie, Alice, Matthew, Peter, Bill and Rose. Rose told the group, “I will be the scribe, help get us organized, but above all, we need to think about how Lucien will react to this information.” “Yes, Lucien struggled yesterday afternoon. He had great difficulties. We need to key on what Richard and Gus tell us,” Alice added her comments to the discussion.

Bill said he would talk about the locations of the fields. Alice said she would discuss the skeletal remains, clues left behind. Peter interjected he would describe the Henderson cabin, Lucien’s clothing and the watch. Rose said she would tell what she found near the Henderson cabin. Bill would finish with the photograph identifications that Henderson made for them. Matthew’s role was to fill in details as needed. Charlie would make the call and try to maintain order with so many wanting to tell about their day. Alice said, as the topics were listed, “I asked that some of the POW group be present to help Lucien process this. There is so much for us to wrap our minds around, and we are not dealing with memory issues, like Lucien, not been away for over two years.”

The POW group, along with Danny, Aaron, Jean, Lucien and Diane had moved to the room where the secure line would ring, were drinking tea, anxiously waiting the update from Ballarat. Once the telephone rang, Danny answered and Alice quickly asked him, “Danny, this is Alice. Who is going to take care of Lucien? There is a great deal of information for all of us to process and this may prove quite upsetting to him.” “Dr. Harvey, James, Hugh and Richard are here with us, and Gus just walked in,” Danny told her. “Good. That is excellent. Put us on the speaker phone now.” 

“Hello to the Melbourne 4 and whoever else is in the room. I will take notes on my end. Who is doing the same there?” Rose said. ”Rose, I will scribe for us here. Between the two sets of notes, we should have a good record. I will send them with James tomorrow – he has Surgery hours there,” Aaron said. “Aaron, you don’t write like a physician do you?” Rose told him, with an obvious chuckle, then a giggle. “No, Rose, I write like a newspaper reporter,” Aaron told her. “Alright you two, let’s get underway,” Alice told them.

As the Ballarat contingent explained their way through the day’s discoveries, questions were asked, answered, not answered as the case may be. Bill explained the new starting location based on the cut fence. “Bill you mean from what I told you on Saturday that you blokes found the field?” “Yes, Doc. It was not where we found your car. That is where all the searching two years ago occurred. No wonder we had no luck finding anything. Took four of us plus what you told us to develop a new starting place. And we hit the field, first time, exactly what you remembered was there,” Bill told him.

When Alice began discussing the skeleton, where it was located, Lucien immediately interrupted her. Tears began collecting in his eyes. “Alice, um, wait, um well, Alice, Matthew, yes, I know who that person is, well was. Oh my, I can still hear the gun shot, smell the discharge, nearly deafened me, I was standing next to him, see um well. He was the fourth person, his name was John um no that is not right, Grant, no that isn’t right either, George, yes that is it, George, um Lin- um Linemann, yes that is him. That’s the name on the passport. The second man, the one who stood on my face, got so bloody angry with him – it was just the first night they had me – and he walked up to him, put a gun next to the base of his skull and pulled the trigger. Hamman and I were made aware very quickly how that man could go ballistic. Don’t know if it was to show me what he would do to me or not. But it did make an impression, memory buried so deep that I am just now recalling it. I yes I did take something from my suitcoat pocket and put it under him. Later, Hannam took his passport and hid it in his clothing, gave it to me, and I gave it to Paul after I got to Melbourne. Did he still have my dog tags around his neck? Second guy put them on him after he was dead. I think to mislead you, if you ever found our trail. You would think I was um yes him, dead. Stop looking for me. Oh my, um well -”

“Yes, Doc we found your receipt under him. Still pretty much intact, in a small bag, buried somewhat,” Bill told him. Richard stood in front of his Major and Gus was behind him. Taking his hands, Richard quietly said, “Major, you need to breathe, swallow, breathe again for me, here is some water, drink it slowly. You remembered so much, excellent clues on Saturday, led to this discovery today. We were always in the wrong field looking for you.” 

Lucien began shaking his head, tearing up, “Jeannie, I almost died that first night. It scared me so badly, and me who waded into anything and everything, was frightened, never see you again, hold you. Then the second guy made me drink a canteen of water, but it was just so awful tasting, I stopped, spit out some and he put the gun to my face and yelled, ‘Drink it, you bastard! Do it!’ Jeannie I did not know him, what I did to him. Hannam stayed in the background, quiet like, and I saw him take the passport from the dead guy then.”

Matthew entered the conversation at that point, “Blake, you have helped us so much today. No one is faulting you for doing what you had to do to stay alive. No one. We will figure out who the second guy is, why he is involved in this, what Hannam’s role was, and how and why they kept you a captive for so long.” “Gus and Richard, how is Lucien doing? Can we continue?” Alice asked. Gus answered, “Yes, Alice I think our boy is doing reasonably well at this point. He has remembered events, can talk about them. Richard and I are right here for him.”

Charlie explained that next to talk were Peter and Rose who would discuss the Henderson cabin and the area surrounding it. Peter began, “Dr. Blake, Bill and I found your suit, belt, shirt all nicely folded up in a bag. And we have your pocket watch, the one that says ‘Do Your Best.’ Once we fingerprint it, Bill told me that I am taking it to the jewelry store for cleaning and repair. Hopefully, we will return it to you this week.” 

Lucien exclaimed, “My watch! Really. Oh my goodness. I thought it was lost, or they shattered it to spite me. Who is going to bring it me? Who? When?” Bill told him, “Let me check for fingerprints in the morning, then to the jewelry store. Maybe Richard can bring it back with him on Wednesday morning. Sound good, Doc?” “Jeannie, my pocket watch, yes.” Jean walked up to him, held his face and kissed him. “Do I hear kissing going on? Who started it?” Alice asked, laughing. Lucien beamed when he said, “Alice, that is just my girl, the one I love, making certain that I remember she is going to stay with me. Is there more to discuss?”

“This is Rose, Lucien. I found a fence post near the Henderson cabin that had peculiar marks on it, like handcuffs perhaps.” “Rose, um yes, they handcuffed me there the second night. Hannam put me there, took some stuff out of my suit coat pockets and then I saw him bury it near the post - still don’t know why Hannam was involved, why he helped me even at the beginning. He could not get away for some reason, or did he stay to help me? I know he doped me, along with the other guy, don’t know why or when we stopped the dope, how he helped me get back to Melbourne. Sorry, talking about all sorts of things aren’t I? Not all taking place on the second night.” ”Major, it is alright. You tell us as you remember, does not matter what the time frame is, just keep telling us, helping us,” James told him, as he approached Lucien and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You see James and Hugh, why I need to talk to Hannam? He can help me understand what happened. What I did to um well – “ Lucien’s burst of conversation stopped abruptly. “Need a drink. Some water. Gus, please work on my neck, shoulders. So tight, so tight.” “Yes, we need a break here, Matthew and Alice,” Gus told the group.

Diane said very quickly, “On my way to get some cold compresses for Lucien’s neck. Danny come help me, will you?” “Yes, ma’am I will.” When they returned, there were enough materials to pack not only Lucien’s neck and shoulders but also Aaron’s. “Thank you Diane for thinking about me. Starting to feel the stress of this session as well,” Aaron told her, as she worked on his neck. Gus took the cold compresses from Danny and began to place them on Lucien’s neck. “Blake, better, I hope. Let’s get Jean up here with you to hold your hands, talk with you,” Gus told him. “Yes, um please. I am going to be alright, I am,” Lucien said to Jean, smiling at her.

Wanting to give Lucien more time to calm down, more time with his love, James and Hugh talked about Hannam’s condition so all of the team knew what was happening with his fight with malaria. “Aaron, have you been able to see if medical records yet?” Alice asked. “No, Dr. Harvey I have not,” Aaron said. Hugh jumped into the conversation, “Alice, I am taking the Major to see Hannam in the morning and I hope Aaron will feel strong enough to go with us. Aaron, think about it. You can tell me tomorrow,” Hugh concluded. “I thought James was taking me to see Hannam. Did you change your mind, James?” Lucien asked. 

“Major, circumstances have changed my mind. Danny and I are driving up to Ballarat first thing tomorrow. We want to help the group with the search and the murder investigation. I have hours in your Surgery tomorrow afternoon, and will return on the train Tuesday morning. Danny will bring Charlie back with him later in the day.” “Well, yes I understand now. Now, Aaron, you must come with me and Hugh tomorrow,” Lucien said. “You ready to go on, Major?” Richard asked. “Um yes, let’s get on with it. What is left, Matthew?” 

“Blake, going to turn this section over to Bill,” Matthew told him. “Doc, Peter and I went to Old Man Henderson’s house and talked to him. I am still so bloody angry at him I could just – But you don’t want to hear about me, do you? He said there were three men who talked to him, it was mid-September 1962, gave him money to use his loading docks, even stole his Ute and he never told us any of this until today. He is the person who Rose did not trust from the beginning, but – So I had photographs to show him. He said Hannam did all of the talking to him. The mystery man was there as well as well as the passport fellow, the one who got executed the first night – George Linemann. Linemann is the man who gave him the money – and you know Doc, he still had it, all wrapped up. Hope to get fingerprints off of it. Said they frightened him, told him not to say anything to anyone about what they talked about. And he did not until today. Never seen anybody so happy to get rid of a brick size package of money.“

Lucien said to Bill, “Um, well, I am still trying to wrap my head around what you just told me. So now we have confirmed two of the three who abducted me. And um –“ Alice interrupted Lucien, “Lucien, yes, it is verification of what you told us. We have a large number of leads about the mystery man. We will keep working on him. Listen, today is December 13, and you arrived in James’ A&E very late the night of December 4. You did not even know who you were. Look at how much we have all figured out. We need to congratulate ourselves on the amount of information we now have. Let’s stay focused this week on determining more details,” Alice told the group. 

“Bill and Peter, will you thank Cliff, Arnie and Vincent for all of their help? Please,” Lucien requested. “And we need to thank Kate, Allie and Ella for feeding all of us at the Blake house tonight. We were all hungry, hot and thirsty,” Rose added. 

“Alice, have you started your work on the skeletal remains yet?” Lucien asked. “No, Lucien, of course, I have not. We just moved it to the morgue a couple of hours ago. Do you want me to take pictures of it and have Richard or Hugh bring them to you?” Alice asked, thinking back to the case of the debutant, Charlotte Worthington, tying to involve a still recovering Lucien, working on the case from home. “No Alice, please don’t get him started,” Jean told her. “Jean, I could help Alice from here, I could,” Lucien told her, with a silly grin on his face. 

“Good work today, everyone. Try to get some rest tonight. I know we will need to talk again soon. And Blake, I will need to talk with you about all of the commotion, pounding, and general mayhem that starts early tomorrow morning in our house,” Matthew said with a chuckle. “Yes, Matthew, a new shower for Christmas. And I will be home to celebrate the holidays with all of you. I will,” Lucien said with much emotion.


	31. Lucien's Surprise

Chapter 31 Lucien’s Surprise

After the telephone call was completed, Gus suggested to both Aaron and Lucien that they walk the hallway with him. “Come on lot, you both need to unwind. Well, for that matter, I do too. Was interesting, intense, troubling at times. Neither one of you will sleep for hours if we don’t walk some of the tension out. Diane, join us, will you?” 

The foursome walked to the therapy room, and Diane gave a quick tour to Aaron and Lucien. Then Gus explained to Blake how to use the lift devise to get in and out of the water. “Carol will accompany the two of you here in the morning, and Aaron has the sheet of exercises you are to do. I will check your knee later in the day and see how you are handling the extra work, Blake.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Lucien told Gus. The beginnings of a grin were on Lucien’s face. “Needed this excursion, Gus. Thank you for suggesting it. And of course for helping me once again.” “Yes, Blake, you needed assistance this evening, and you have the crew on this floor to provide it,” Gus told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

As the four continued doing laps in the hallway, Gus sketched out his childhood interest in engineering, then medicine, and how being an orthopaedic surgeon combined so many areas together. “You know, this keeps me interested, reading, studying. Each patient presents a unique problem, to be solved, drives my interest in innovative surgical repair, and if necessary, brace construction.” 

”Gus, it is almost like being a police surgeon – a mystery to be solved, need evidence from the crime scene as well as the deceased, to tell their final story. Let me propose an idea to you. Could the two of us take Little Blake to your shop the next time he is here? Show him what you do.“ “Yes, Lucien, let’s try to get him here on a weekend. I am not so busy then. But you know, I will need a subject to work on. Can I work on your leg?” Gus asked. “Well, I um, yes, I will let you, as long as you don’t um –“ “No ‘Bloody Hells,’ right?” “Yes, I guess that is what I was thinking,” Lucien said. 

While the foursome were walking, Richard, Hugh and Jean returned to Lucien’s room. “Jean, let’s talk about talk sleeping arrangements for you and the Major this evening. I am leaving the decision in your hands. What do you suggest?” Richard said, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder. “For tonight, I propose the two of us go into the bedroom, Diane can check on us every hour or two. I want to talk with Lucien, let him tell me what he is thinking, what he is feeling. So much happened tonight, I think we need to be together, to talk, to hold each other,” Jean told them. “Good instincts. I agree with you, Jean. However, I will leave medication orders with Diane just in case. And I will be in the lounge tonight if you need any assistance,” Hugh told her. “Thank you Hugh. I hope we don’t need to bother you.”

Gus delivered both Aaron and Lucien to their rooms. “Blake, you did very well this evening, in the meeting and walking with me. You are getting some stamina back, memories returning. Richard asked me to remind you to write in your journal this evening.” Once Gus left the room, Lucien said, in an exhausted tone of voice, “Jeannie, I thought that man would never stop talking, stop walking. Bloody Hell, I am just beat. I really am, Jean. He wanted to make certain I slept tonight. Well, I will be lucky to get into the bed before I am asleep. That is not what I had intended. I want to be with you,” Lucien complained to Jean. “Lucien, if that is the case, then you need to change clothes and walk into the other room. I want to do more than watch you sleep,” Jean told him with an inviting smile on her face. “Yes, um, I will obey your request, my love. Let’s get going then.” 

When they entered the room, Gus was just leaving it. “I put the kettle on, the softer, nighttime brace is on the bed, and I will be back in the morning to check on the two of you. Good night,” Gus told them. Lucien walked into the room and sat down, looked at his journal, and gazed at Jean. “Lucien, write, even if it is to say how badly Gus just treated you,” Jean told him, smiling. Then she walked up to him, put her arms around his neck and started kissing him. “Um yes, Jeannie, that is the first sentence. Then the second one will be how you are teasing me, inviting me to take you to our bed. Thus endth the writing session. To bed, now my lady.” 

Jean helped Lucien change the brace on his leg, they crawled into bed, and she placed her head on his chest, his arm caressing her. “Oh Jeannie, what a day, so much going on, and it is barely over a week that I showed up in James’ A&E.” “Lucien, you arrived not certain who you were and now we know where you entered the field, who was with you, when you got back to Melbourne, among other things. But we don’t know where they abducted you – in Ballarat, I assume. Do you have any idea?” “Nope.”

As she cuddled next to him, her wandering hand made a journey down his chest, and on to Radcliffe fairly quickly. Lucien hummed his pleasure. “Oh my goodness, we remember you my lady. Jean, as much as I like what you are doing, and please, please do not stop, I want to tell you what I am thinking about. Robert Hannam. I am trying to think positively about him. Want to see him tomorrow.” “Of course you want him to survive and answer your questions. We need more information to understand why Hannam was a part of that group in the field, what they made you do, why the drug cocktail. Lots of unanswered questions. But, listen to me, Lucien, you have made incredible progress this past week. Appreciate what you have accomplished since you have been in hospital. Each week is going to get better, my love, it is,” Jean told him, kissing his chest and neck.

“Um my darling, Jeannie, on another subject, I have a proposal for your to consider. Oh my goodness, you and he are having some fun, aren’t you? Well, in reality, my proposal involves the three of us – you, me and Radcliffe. Jeannie, dearest, I would like to renew our wedding vows on Christmas Day. In our backyard, with the Blake household as well as everyone in attendance who are helping us here in hospital. I remember on Christmas Day 1960 you gave me a calendar with the 25th of March 1961 circled for our wedding. Will you marry me again, my love?” “Lucien Blake, what um when well I ah had no idea that – you were, on my goodness – “ Jean could say no more, nothing coherent was coming from her lips. She dissolved into a mass of sobs and tears. Lucien held her tightly, kissing her hands, neck, lips, face, pushing her hair out of her eyes, wiping away tears. ”Jeannie, I love you so much, I need you. Are you telling me you will marry me again?” Lucien was tearing up, wiping tears from his eyes, finding it hard to swallow.

Both Diane and Richard heard Jean crying, sniffling, and Lucien talking gently to her. “Richard, do you hear Jean? What do you think happened? Should we go in?” Diane asked. “Of course we are going into the room, right now!” Richard knocked on the door, and before anyone could say ‘Come in’ he was in the room, walking towards the bed. “How can I help the two of you?” “Richard, I um asked my love if she would marry me again. And now all she can do is cry, sob, weep – can’t get her to stop. Just wanted a ‘Yes’ from her. What am I going to do?” Lucien said, grinning. Richard handed Jean his handkerchief, and she wiped her eyes, and said through the sniffles, “Yes, of course I will marry you again. Lucien, I want you, need you, and I am still so much in love with you,” Jean said as she hugged him, smothered him in kisses, not really aware that anyone but her love was in the room. 

Hearing the commotion, both Hugh and Aaron entered the room, intending to offer their help. “What can we do, Richard?” Hugh said very quickly. “Jean and Lucien are both very emotional, but seem to be doing better now,” Diane said. “Lucien asked Jean if she would renew their marriage vows on Christmas Day,” Richard told them. “And all of you are invited to our house for the ceremony – our back yard,” Jean said, smiling at Lucien, kissing his wedding ring. “What wonderful news. Yes I will be there, count me in,” Aaron said, grinning at Jean and Lucien. “And we are among the first to know this incredible news. That is awesome,” Hugh exclaimed. 

“We are fine. Thank you for your concern,” Lucien told them, with a lopsided grin on his face. “We know, Major, when we are not wanted. See you two in the morning,” Hugh, chuckled as he looked at the two of them. “Thank you Hugh,” Jean said with a smile. Once everyone was gone, the lights dimmed, Jean crawled into Lucien’s arms once again. “Lucien, you could have given me some warning about what you were thinking about. You surprised me, wanting to renew our vows. I just um –“ “Don’t you dare start crying again, my love. Well, maybe you need to cry everything out before the ceremony. Can’t have you weeping as you say ‘I do’ to me!” Jean punched him in the arm and began kissing his face, his neck, his chest. “Well, yes, that is the girl I truly love, yes indeed.”

“Jeannie, will you put lotion on my back? It is really itching.” “Turn on our side and let me get the lotion. Should I get Joseph’s box as well?” “Yes to both, please.” As Jean slowly rubbed the lotion on his back, they chatted about the day, his knee, their plans for Monday, and then he stopped answering her. Jean thought, yes, once again he has gone to sleep on me. Not the first time, probably won’t be the last time. And that is fine. He is back in my life. I have him next to me, in our bed. Love him whenever I want to. Don’t have to sleep by myself again. We will wake up in each other’s arms, love one another, become one, once again in the morning.

Sometime in the early morning hours, Lucien began to awaken. He realized he was holding on to Jeannie, she was tucked into chest, her hair all around his face. She was sleeping soundly, her legs intertwined with his. I bet I went to sleep on her again. But that means she will wake up in my arms if I just start kissing, nibbling here and there, and she will – “Lucien, are you wake now? I got to watch you sleep, listen to you snore, I teased you, kissed you, to no avail.” “Sorry about that, my lady. But I am awake now and ready to – ” “What do you want to do, Lucien?” “Want to make out a little bit, Jean?” “Of course I do.” 

Lucien told Jean, “We need to be careful with my bloody knee. So who is going to start this session?” “I am!” Jean told him. “Of course. As long as I can have the very last word!” Lucien said playfully. “On your back, my love. Need to see how many kisses it takes before our boy gets interested,” Jean told him. She began to slowly work her way up and down his chest, neck, face, placing kisses at strategic points along the way. Jean played with his beard, tickled his sides, and wandered down to Radcliffe, kissed him, talked with him, kissed him again, made Lucien giggle at what the two of them were doing. 

“Look who is showing some signs of life. My turn. Let me get on my side and see what I can do to pleasure you my love.” Lucien started with several passionate kisses to Jean’s lips, then slowly moved to her chest, breasts, neck and then stopped. “What is it Lucien?” “Got to wipe some tears, tears are coming from um me this time, missing you for so many months, not knowing if I would ever see you again. Sent on so many dangerous missions, don’t know why or how I survived. Then to get nearly killed by one of the people who abducted me. And now, in bed with you, I get to love you time and time again. Jean, I do not deserve this, I don’t.” 

Jean explained to Lucien, “I beg to differ with you, my love. We both deserve this time together, to do what we want to, as long we desire. Now how about getting back to business?” “Um yes, Jean. I can follow that order, yes I can.” As Lucien started kissing Jean again, they both grabbed onto each other, holding each other and his hand moved to her curls. “Now, I have to see what color polish you have on our toenails. Let me get rearranged.” As Lucien kissed his way up her legs, back down them, and then up to her curls, Jean was feeling some tears come from her eyes. “Don’t stop Lucien, just happy tears, so happy being with you.” Lucien continued kissing, playing with her curls, placing his fingers into her, stretching her, then kissing her deeply. “Oh my, um Jeannie, let me pleasure you, I love you, want to make you happy. Got Joseph’s box handy?” “Yes right here my love.” “Jean you will need to jump on top, quick before he changes his mind.” “Radcliffe is not going to change his mind, Lucien. He just needs to be gently persuaded to come inside, and enjoy himself.” 

And Jean, of course, was right. “Well, Jeannie, I did not think we could pull that off this morning. I didn’t.” “I knew we could, Lucien.” “Yes, I remember now that you were always smarter than me. And with regards to _us_ – you are. I want you to know – our love making gives me great pleasure. I love you.”

They continued to hold each other, cuddle, kiss, and enjoy being together. “Jeannie, I had such fun. I know I am not the way I used to be in bed, but, well we are making it work, aren’t we? Hopefully, when my knee is not so gimpy, the drug cocktail is out of my system, I can be on top.” “So why do you think I don’t like being on top?” Jean asked, with a mischievous grin on her face. “Um yes, well of course, we will alternate when the time comes, do whatever we want,” Lucien said with a laugh and then grabbed her to kiss her dozens of times. About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. “Good Morning. It’s Carol. I have breakfast arriving in 30 minutes. We’ll gather in your room Lucien to eat. If I can help with two with anything, let me know.” 

While Jean and Lucien were waking up in a most leisurely manner, James and Danny were leaving Melbourne, at first light, to drive to Ballarat, straight on to the Blake House. As they walked into the sunroom and then entered the kitchen, they discovered Matthew, Alice and Rose fixing breakfast. The table was set for seven and Bill and Charlie wandered into the kitchen with the newspaper, talking about an article that Rose had written. “You know, Rose, you are a good writer. Ready to get back to work today on our investigation?” Bill asked her. “Yes, I am. I lost a day over the weekend, don’t want that to happen again.” 

As they were eating, Matthew began organizing the group. “Let’s plan what we are doing today. I am taking two constables with me to the Henderson cabin and we are going to unpack that place. You know, I don’t know how long stuff has accumulated there, but we are going to work on emptying it in the next few days. I figure, if he could, Blake left us some ‘nuggets’ in there, somewhere.” 

“I am working on the skeletal remains. Will need Bill, James and Danny to go back to the field and search for additional evidence,” Alice told them. “Well, Alice, based on what the Major told us, it is hot out there. I think I am more interested in the morgue. Can I accompany you?” James explained. “Of course, you are welcome to come with me,” Alice told him. “You do remember I have surgery hours this afternoon, can’t be a hot sweaty mess seeing my patients, right?” James said. “And James, you may have to cover for me part of the afternoon. Will you?” Alice asked him. “Certainly. Long as I have dinner and some good conversation this evening, I am fine.” 

“Charlie, what are you going to do?” Matthew asked. “I want to talk with Rose about some ideas I have, the actual abduction, where it happened. We know the Boss was in the field by the evening, so there is a gap in time – he left the police station at about 4 PM and then what? Want to brain storm with you. Sound alright?” “Yes, Charlie, let’s talk, figure out our day.” 

“I want Peter to stay at the station and work on several items. He is going to fingerprint the block of money, count it, put it in evidence. And he is going to fingerprint the Doc’s pocket watch, take it to the jewelry store for repair. I hope Richard can return it on Wednesday. Then, he is going to run the plates on Henderson’s Ute and see where it might be. Also going to look for missing persons from September 1962 to see if George Linemann’s name is there,” Bill told the group. “And Bill, see if there are any burned out, ‘found’ cars or Utes that have not been claimed. I have a hunch there is another vehicle we need to locate,” Danny said.

Charlie and Rose took their tea and settled into the chairs in the sunroom. “Charlie, tell me what you are thinking about.” “Rose, if the Boss left at 4 PM, where did he go? When did they abduct him? Where did they do it? Hard to believe here in town. Someone would have recognized his car. So, I am thinking, perhaps someone was in the car when he got into it. Pretty brazen because he always parked his car at the station,” Charlie sketched out his thinking. “But wait a minute, he had flowers for Jean. Maybe the person got in the car while he was inside the flower shop, or perhaps someone needed help along the road to the house, or something like that.” 

“Rose, are you going to revisit the Henderson step son, Jake Middleton in Bendigo today?” Charlie asked. “Was on my list, Charlie. Here’s what I propose to do – we go to visit old man Henderson, now that Bill has him softened up, and then drive to Bendigo to chat with Jake. Remember, Charlie, that Jake told me there were two men and Hannam, week of September 17, 1962, in Bendigo. I still think there is more going on with them than either one of them has told us. Maybe he remembers the type of vehicle they were driving.” “Rose, sounds like a plan to me. Remember to take the photographs with us. Let’s go. I need to be back here by 4 PM to head back to Melbourne with Danny.”

Carol rolled her breakfast cart into Lucien’s room and found Jean, Lucien, Aaron and Gus ready to eat. She joined them and then Aaron excitedly asked Gus and Carol if they had heard the news. “You mean about Blake and Jean getting hitched again, on Christmas Day?” Gus asked, looking at Lucien and Jean and grinning broadly. “You know, Lucien, you have a dilemma. Who is going to stand up with you? I know Matthew did before, but look at the crew of possibilities now – the Melbourne POW grant team, including yours truly, Aaron, who took a direct hit for you, Danny, Charlie, Bill, of course Matthew, your group session mates, and of course your little namesake, Master Blake, just to name a few possibilities.” “Um to have such a dilemma is something I did not expect to have, even two weeks ago. I am one very fortunate man, good friends who have supported my love while I was gone. Need to make certain my Jeannie knows I love her, she makes my life complete,” Lucien said, as Jean once again was overwhelmed with emotion. “Gus, I think that anyone, _yes anyone_ , who comes to our ‘do’ will be standing up with us, helping us celebrate our being together once again, don’t you?” Lucien said, as he reached for Jean to kiss.

Walking up to Jean, Carol hugged her and said, “Jean we have some planning to do this afternoon. Diane told me when I came in today that the three of us need to start making ‘To Do’ lists and talk to the Ballarat group. Got a triple celebration to plan – Santa Claus for the McCann kids, Homecoming for Lucien, and now Celebrating the renewing of your marriage vows. Such fun. Diane and I want to be a part of the festivities as well.” “Of course, we want both of you to help us. So much to think about, so little time, Carol,” Jean said.

As the group was finishing breakfast, Hugh walked into Lucien’s room. “James and Danny are in Ballarat already and I have the assigned task of taking you two mates to see Hannam. Aaron, this will be your first time in the Tropical Disease unit since you got injured. Don’t be surprised if they have some ‘do’ planned for you. Wear your ear plugs, dark glasses alright. Major, get yourself into this wheelchair and we will take our leave.” 

Before they left, Lucien asked Jean, “What are you going to do while we are gone?” Lucien asked. “I have a security escort lined up for my beauty shop appointment. Thought after that I would go to the candy shop and get some more treats that we both like. Will be back for lunch with you two,” Jean told him, as she took his hands, kissed them and then kissed his cheek. “See you then, my love.”

Once Hugh approached the Tropical Diseases Unit, one of Aaron’s colleagues met them and they were escorted to a conference room. Hugh handed Aaron the medical records of Robert Hannam. After studying it for several minutes, he looked up and told Lucien, “You _do_ understand that Hannam is critically ill, right? He has had seizures, breathing is impaired – despite all the medical support we can give him, he is got one of the worst cases of malaria I have seen,” Aaron told him, reaching out to hold his arm. “But, um Aaron, he knows about so much that I just cannot remember,” Lucien said, almost pleading with Aaron to change his analysis. “Major, remember what Richard told you – you must realize that _you_ will be the only one to unpack why they took you. What you did while you were gone. Hannam may not make it, and if he does, he may not be able to tell you the answers to your questions. Bottom line Major, he may not know who you are,” Hugh told him. Aaron continued, “Lucien, do you understand that he may not survive this illness?” “I think so, Aaron. Yes, I think I do, well, yes, I do.”

Hugh took Lucien into Hannam’s room with him and Aaron stayed in the conference room. Several of the staff joined him, to talk, inquire about his head injury, wish him well. Aaron was updated on his patients, signed off on some paperwork, drank some tea, ate some biscuits. Lucien tried talking to Hannam, got nowhere with even simple questions, held his hand for 15 minutes or so, kept up the chatter with no response. “Alright Hugh, let’s go back to my room. I um realize now how ill he is, how much is on my shoulders, that I am just going to have to grind away on the two years I was gone. Let all of you figure out the beginning and end of my disappearance, the middle – well, that will be my job over the next few months,” Lucien stated, seeming to realize that Hannam would be of little, if any help for him. Lucien could not control this situation, it would not be alright, as he was so prone to say. Not this time. 

Once Hugh brought Aaron and Lucien back to their rooms, Carol helped Lucien out of his brace, they changed into swim trunks and then she accompanied them to the therapy room. After Lucien was in the warm water, Aaron continued talking with him about Hannam, sensing he needed to continue to unpack what he learned. “Alright, Aaron, let’s get busy with this.“ Initially, Aaron focused on Lucien ‘s leg and knee exercises that Gus ordered. He made him do several of them a second time, to be certain he was doing them correctly, and one exercise he never could complete. “Aaron, we don’t need to do more than Gus suggested, do we?” “Yes, Blake, if you are not doing them correctly, they do not count.” 

Aaron and Lucien took a short break, and Lucien asked him about his time in the Army, where he was stationed, why he chose Tropical Medicine for a specialty. Then they got back to work on the neck and shoulder exercises. Lucien had little difficulty with them, but Aaron was struggling. “Aaron, you doing alright?” “No, not really.” Lucien went over to him and examined his neck, saw the nasty bruise that was still visible, felt how tight the muscles were. “Will you let me help you?” “Please, Lucien. I need some relief. It really hurts,” Aaron told him, with some tears gathering in his eyes. Lucien began to massage his neck, and very quickly Aaron felt his neck and shoulder muscles begin to relax. “Blake, what are you doing to me? You have made such a difference. Thank you.” Aaron told him, breathing a sigh of relief. “Mostly acupuncture points, more Chinese style medicine than Western. From what I am feeling, you are more comfortable now, right Aaron?” “Yes, indeed. Can you keep it up for a while longer?” Aaron asked. “You bet.”

Carol walked into the room to check on them and discovered Lucien working with Aaron’s neck and asked, “You two doing alright? How can I help? What patient notes do I need to record?” “Aaron’s neck is quite tight, tender, and he is not able to do any of the exercises. The warm water is helping and my massaging his neck should let the muscles relax even more. Put down on his notes that I will work with him in the water as well as once more during the day. Want him feeling better so he can enjoy his time in Ballarat with us,” Lucien told her. “Duly recorded. Aaron, what notes on Lucien?” “His knee is still very tender and stiff, great difficulty doing exercises 3, 6, 10 and yes 12. Reluctantly, did them after I made him do them twice. But number 12, well, he cannot complete it.” “Ready to get out of there? Here are some towels. I will help you back to your rooms, so you can take a shower, get dressed,” Carol told them.

After leaving the beauty shop, Jean wanted to purchase some more candy. Thomas had introduced her to these chocolate covered nuts years ago and Lucien enjoyed them even more that she did. The box she opened Friday evening was already empty – Lucien had devoured them. Jean was ready to pay for them when Paul Wong from the Oriental Medicine shop walked in. “Lady Jean, getting treats for you and the good doctor?” “Paul, yes we both like them too much. But that is not stopping me this morning from buying some more. I am going back to hospital. Do you have time to eat lunch with us? I am certain Lucien would like to see you, chat.” “Let me get my supply of sinful, yet delectable, chocolate and let’s go,” Paul told her.

Just as Carol was ready to roll the lunch cart into Lucien’s room, Gus called her and asked about the exercise session. “Gus, I need to tell you they both tattled on each other. Neither one could do the number of repetitions you wanted.” “Carol, I will join you for lunch and talk to both of them. I did not expect that to happen,” Gus told her, with some worry in his voice.

As Paul and Jean entered the room, Gus was talking to both Aaron and Lucien about the therapy session. Obviously he was concerned, wanting both of them to be on track to leave for Ballarat next week. “Hello, my love. Come over here and let me kiss you,” Lucien said with a grin, a raised eyebrow. “What is going on Gus? Is he trying to deflect your comments?” Jean asked. “Of course he is, Jean,” Gus told her. 

“Paul, good to see you. Your visit is perfectly timed. Both of these boys would benefit from our combined approach to their injuries,” Gus said. Lucien looked at the two of them and said with a laugh, “But I am eating first, going to take my sweet time enjoying my lunch. Aaron, don’t hurry either. Maybe they will get distracted and forget what they are planning, plotting for us.”

The slower pace to lunch did allow Paul and Lucien to talk, get him updated on some the developments with Lucien. Aaron talked with Paul about Hannam and his prognosis. Paul realized that Aaron was trying to prepare Lucien for the possibility that Hannam might not recover. Unfortunately, his group of colleagues had the same opinion. 

“Mates, I have hours starting at 2 PM so let’s get started with the two of you. Lucien you are first,” Gus told him. After unwrapping the compression bandage and removing the cold compresses, Gus helped him assume the exercise #12 position – and a ‘Bloody Hell’ roared out of Lucien’s mouth very quickly. Paul held the knee, rotated it and then said, “Lucien, I can help. Will you let me?” “Um, yes, Paul. It is so stiff, hard to bend it.” 

Once Gus and Carol had Lucien stretched out on the bed, Jean positioned herself so she would block his view. Paul removed his container of acupuncture needles and began to treat his leg. Lucien was quiet, holding his Jeannie’s hands, talking with her. When Paul had Lucien’s leg ready, he nodded to Carol and Gus and they drained fluid from his knee. Lucien remained still, breathing evenly, focused on Jean. Aaron just looked at what was ongoing, shook his head, almost in disbelief. “Lucien, you did very good. We are finished, need to wrap the leg, pack the knee. You must rest this afternoon, stay in bed, do you understand?” Paul told him. “Paul, he will follow your orders. I will make certain of it,” Jean told him.

Aaron got up and was about to leave the room when Gus stopped him. “And where do you think you are going Dr. Gage?” “Um back to my room, Gus. Why?” “Since Paul is here, we will evaluate your neck injury, map a different course for you. I know you could not do any exercises this morning, right?” “Yes, Gus that is correct but I am not so keen on those needles, no not really,” Aaron said, eyeing the door. Then a different voice was directed at him. “Aaron, Aaron, look at me. What if I held your hands, talked with you while they figure out how to help you?” Jean asked him. “Would you Jean?” “Of course. Let’s head to your room, help you lie down and get this underway, Aaron. Lucien, you stay put. I will be right back,” Jean told the two of them, raising an eyebrow at both of them. “Yes, Jean, I understand.” Lucien told her, with a grin on his face. “You have not given me the eyebrow thingy in so long Jean. I need to start misbehaving so I can see it again and again!” Jean walked up to him and kissed him. “Lucien, behave yourself.”

Jean returned to Lucien’s room after Paul and Gus treated Aaron’s neck and shoulders. Reviewing what she witnessed with Aaron, she thought about the almost immediate impact that the treatment had with him, how his range of motion had increased. Carol packed his neck and got him settled for an afternoon nap. Lucien was still in bed, sleeping peacefully. She kissed him, covered him up with a light blanket, dimmed the lights, and sat down next to his bed. Thinking to herself, Jean smiled as she thought about how the physician team worked so well together, across specialties, as well as approaches. But despite their advanced level of education and skill, in truth they were each just a human being, frightened of some of the same things we all are. 

While Lucien slept, Jean took her grant materials to the evidence room, spread out her notes, and began to work on the third paper. Both Richard and Joseph had returned their notes and suggestions and she was going to merge everything together. They were not having a formal grant meeting this week, but with everyone on the floor at one time or another, she could easily get additional comments from all of them. Her goal was to wrap it up before they left for home. Home. What is Lucien thinking about – we are still here, don’t return until probably the 22nd and he wants to decorate the house – with two trees, no less – buy gifts, plan for Santa Claus to come for Blake and Jenny, Christmas dinner for how many people – don’t want to think about that, renewing our marriage vows, celebrating that marvelous occasion, and yes, nearly forgot, a new shower in our bedroom. And that is probably not everything to think about. But, you know, Jean Blake, the last two Christmas days have been so hard to manage, everyone there to ‘help’ me and I just wanted to curl up and cry. No one would let me, kept me centered, focused on the time he would be with me again. And that time is now, my goodness gracious, it is NOW. 

Carol walked into the room, with tea for both of them, and found Jean by herself, smiling, yes smiling the biggest smile she had seen on Jean’s face since she arrived. “Jean, so nice to see you happy, smiling. Looks so good on you. Got time to chat about the holidays?” Carol asked her. “Carol, of course, I do. Just thinking of everything we need to do has me frightened because I am not home to start on the festivities. But I need to remember the Blake household has greatly expanded in the last two years. There will be lots of help, I just need to let them take over. Won’t be exactly like I would do it but –”

“Give me some feedback on this question – should we purchase new wedding bands to exchange in the ceremony?” “Jean, I know the owners of a very nice jewelry store near hospital. What if I ask them to bring a selection of rings to you? Lucien and you could look at them, select a set, have them sized and you would have that task completed before you leave next week,” Carol told her. “Yes I would like to do that. Please call them. Maybe they could come tomorrow?” Jean told her.

 


	32. Reports from Ballarat

Ch. 32 Reports from Ballarat

Jean was lying next to Lucien when he began to awaken from his afternoon nap. She had her hand on his arm, gently stroking it, smiling at him, wanting to kiss him, but she thought, no – not quite yet. He needed to wake up on his own terms. About ten minutes later that happened. “Jeannie, is that you my love?” What time is it?” “Lucien, it is about 3:30. Do you remember what Paul and Gus did for you?” ‘Um, yes I do. Worked on my stiff knee. You know, right now, I think it feels better. Come to me, get closer. I must kiss you,” Lucien told her, with a grin developing. He held her tightly and they began to kiss. “You know, Lucien, I love you. Oh, and there will be a jeweler here tomorrow with a selection of wedding bands.” “Jeannie, you mean, new rings for us for the ‘do’ in our back yard – to renew our vows?” “Yes, Carol knows a jeweler here in the city and they will come tomorrow. Isn’t that exciting?” “Yes, indeed. Very good idea. I had not thought about that. Just wanted to marry you again, let you know how much I love you.”

“Jean, when will Paul come back again to check my knee?” “Lucien, he told me he would be back each day to check both you and Aaron. Poor Aaron. He was so frightened. I held his hands, talked to him, and I think it helped. He let both Gus and Paul work with his neck and shoulders.” “Jean, did he have more movement afterwards? Could he sleep?” “Yes to both questions. He is still asleep. I have an appointment with Richard in a few minutes. I have your journal here – write – more than two sentences like you did last night. And here are the small notebooks that you and Hannam had. Try to figure out what you two were recording. I know that involves the middle part, the longer part, of your disappearance.” 

“Lucien, waking up? Jean, Richard is in the room down the hall. I have the kettle on and will bring you both some tea when it is ready. Now, Lucien, how can I help you?” Carol asked. “Two things, Carol. Need to get up and use the loo. Then I want to check on Aaron. Please make certain I don’t fall.” “I can most certainly help you with that. Richard will be here in the room to chat with you in 45 minutes or so.” “Yes, um I remember that, I do. I understand you are helping us select new wedding bands. Thank you.” “Going to be quite the Holiday weekend isn’t it?” “First time home in so bloody long. Want to make so many new memories, for Jean and me.”

“Jean, before you leave to see Richard, did you select some dinner for me?” Lucien asked her. “Yes, of course I did. I will be just down the hallway,” she told him, as she kissed him on the cheek. As she walked into the room, Richard spoke to her, “Jean, ready to spend some time debriefing with me?” “Of my goodness, yes, Richard. Did Lucien tell you anything about wanting to renew our vows? Anything?” “Of course not, kept it very close to the vest. Perhaps Matthew knew what he was thinking, but no one here did. I asked. Wondered if I was just plain dumb and did not realize what he was thinking about,” Richard said, shaking his head, grinning at Jean. 

“What do you want to talk about today?” “Richard, so much has happened this past week. But I think a couple of items are at the top of my list. Me. I have not had any cardiac episodes since the one on the morning of the 5 th. My leg is so much better, with Lucien working each day with it, using Paul’s new cream, and despite me complaining mightily, it is on the mend. My neck is well – the constant worrying about where he is, if he is alive, not knowing – is gone. Now what I am worried about is different, how much will he remember, can he come off of the drugs, will he be able to practice again, what if he can’t. That is where I am now. Can’t stop the worry, the concern, can I Richard?”

“Doesn’t seem like you are ready to stop and I don’t propose that you do. He has months of recovery ahead. Let’s try going back to one day at a time. Jean, deal with one day at a time, like we did before. Enjoy each day to the fullest with him. He is fighting very hard to come back to you, to all of us. We all need to be patient with the Major, to a point. Some days we will need to just tell him what to do, how to behave. And I think in the next few weeks he will be able to carry more of the load himself. At least that is what I am thinking now,” Richard explained. 

After another half hour of talking, chatting, some tears, some laughter, Richard wrapped up the session with Jean. “Next Monday at 4 PM is on my schedule for you. Of course, based on what happens between now and then, we can talk again.” “Richard, thank you. You continue to be such a good friend, a guide through these last two years,” Jean told him, as she reached to kiss him on the cheek and hug him. “Jean, we have helped each other. We are Blake family strong,” Richard said, as he smiled at her.

Richard left Jean to walk down the hall to Lucien’s room. He found him in bed, looking at the two small notebooks that he and Hannam had recorded events while they were on assignments. “Major, your time now. Can you tell me what you want to talk about?” “Yes, I can Richard. I want to talk about several things - my journal entries, my sketches about my journey into the dark hole on Saturday, and my curly hair.” “Major, what about talking about Hannam as well?” “Um, ah, yes, I guess we need to, but I ah Richard, what am I going to do if he doesn’t survive?” “So what do you do if he does survive, and doesn’t know you, and doesn’t remember anything to help you? Now what is your strategy going to be?” Richard asked. “Is that why you are so tentative about answering my question? Let’s start there first.” “Richard, I really don’t want to.” “Lucien, don’t you think I know that?” Richard reached out to Lucien, hugged him, wiped a few tears from his eyes, and then told him, “We need to start with Hannam. We both know that, as hard as it is going to be, we must begin to deal with it.”

Lucien and Richard talked for nearly an hour about Hannam, his journal writing, and his sketches. They were wrapping up when Jean walked into the room. “Richard, one more question from me,” Jean said, with a smile on her face. “What are we going to do about his hair? What is behind this wild and crazy look that even his namesake Blake does not understand?” “Jean, that was a question the Major posed as well. Don’t have a clue. That decision should be between you and the Major and Master Blake,” Richard said as he grinned at the both of them. Major, I have you down for 5 PM next Monday for another session. Of course, as I told Jean, we can talk whenever we need to.”

Diane delivered dinner for the three of them. They continued chatting, with the topic now turning to the two of them, as a couple. Richard began with a question. “Can you two tell me about the evenings together in the bedroom? Jean, are you comfortable being alone with Lucien? What about nightmares? It seems to me the morning terrors have dissipated since you are together, all night,” Richard told them. 

“Richard, I am not in the least bit afraid of being with him. He does not thrash around, no nightmares, and yes, the morning episodes have stopped – for the time being. The only issue I have is his knee, the brace, not wanting to hurt his leg. That will take time, I know that. I stopped taking the sleeping pills your prescribed for me,” Jean told him, with a smile. Lucien entered the conversation, “I just love being in bed with my lady, I do. I am remembering more about what we enjoyed before I disappeared, but Jean told me on Friday, we are creating what we want to do now, not necessary to remember before. There are some performance issues, but we are still getting it on, just takes a lot longer. As Jean said, my knee is so sore, drugs still in my system, testosterone levels – I haven’t heard anything recently on those levels. Can you tell me anything?” Lucien told both Jean and Richard. Hugh should have levels for both of them on Tuesday morning when he checks you.” 

Lucien turned the tables on Richard, “Richard, how are you doing? So much going on up here, are you –“ “Major, I am doing well. The team is dividing up our visits with you and Aaron, and with the addition of Gus to the team, we are managing relatively well. We are all looking forward to a week at the Blake house for Christmas,” Richard told both Jean and Lucien. “We are so ready to go home – but want the shower done first,” Jean said, reaching for a second plate of food to hand to Lucien.

Gus joined Aaron for dinner and Diane was eating with them. They chatted about Aaron’s issues with the exercise routine, about Paul’s treatment. “Gus I was such a wimp this afternoon. If Jean had not helped me – ” Aaron stopped talking. “Aaron, but she did help you, got you to calm you down so Paul could do his magic on your neck and shoulders. He will be back tomorrow afternoon, probably about 4 PM. I think you should hold off on your exercises until he is here. I am going to suggest that to Lucien as well.“ 

Danny and Charlie were back in Melbourne, walked to the nurses’ station and looked into Aaron’s room, saw Diane there, asked, “Diane, please tell us you have food for us?” “Of course, let me get you some. Join us.” “You two look very hot, dusty, worn out. Does that describe your day?” Gus asked them. “Yes it does for me, Gus. I was in the field with Bill searching the area where the skeleton was found. We had some success, but the heat and dust got to me by midafternoon,” Danny told them. Aaron asked Charlie, “What about your day in Ballarat, Charlie?” “I spent most of the day in Bendigo with Rose, trying to figure out a timeline for the Doc. He was there about 6:30 on the 26 th of September. Hannam was driving his car. Mystery man was in the back seat with him. There was a second car with them. Will update all of the group when we talk this evening.” 

Diane returned to the room with two trays of food and two pitchers of water. “Thanks, Diane. We are really hungry and thirsty,” Danny told her. Gus asked the two of them, “If either of you need any medical assistance from either Diane or me, just let us know. Make certain you keep drinking water, right?” “Yes, Gus, Alice tried to impress that on all of us this morning. Do you know James wimped out on going with Bill and me? Said the morgue was more to his liking. Got to kid him about that – that place was cold compared to where we were in the heat,” Danny said with a grin. 

About half seven, the Melbourne crew gathered in the room for the telephone call from Ballarat. Richard, Lucien, Jean, Aaron, Gus, Danny, Charlie, and Diane gathered around the table. “Where is Hugh?” Lucien asked. “He has an emergency. Told me not to expect him,” Diane told him. In Ballarat the group, consisting of Matthew, Alice, Rose, James, Peter and Bill, gathered around the telephone. Bill placed the call. 

“Aaron are you scribing again?” Rose asked. “Yes I am. Could you read my notes from the last call?” Aaron said. “Yes, not a problem.” Then Lucien spoke up very quickly, animated, excited, “I have an important announcement to make. On Christmas day, in our backyard, Jean and I are renewing our marriage vows. You are all invited!” “Jean, are you willing to marry that man, again?” Matthew asked her, chuckling. “Matthew, yes I am, despite everything I know about him, I will,” Jean told him, laughing, smiling, reaching for his hand to kiss.

Matthew told the group that Peter would start the reports. “My job today was to fingerprint the money and Dr. Blake’s pocket watch. The only fingerprints on the watch were Dr. Blake’s and on the bundle of money were old man Henderson. I counted £10,000 and put it in the evidence safe. Also took the watch to the jewelry store and I should be able to get it tomorrow afternoon. I will give it to Richard to return to you, Dr. Blake.” “Thank you Peter. Looking forward to getting my watch back. My father gave it to me, some 45 years ago,” Blake told him. 

“Blake, this is Matthew. Three of us are sorting the Henderson cabin. So much junk, it is a pack rat heaven. One thing of interest is a pair of army boots. Important? I don’t know. On a totally different subject, your bathroom is a disaster. Got the plumbing started for the new shower. Glad you aren’t here right now.” “Matthew, keep them on target but don’t make them mad at you. Want it done by Christmas or earlier,” Lucien told his good friend.

“Hi there Lucien, this is Rose and Charlie’s report. I know he is there now with you. I will start. I have the aliases that we know about for the second man, our mystery man, the second man. Just to remind everyone, they are: Jonas Holman, Mark Pearce, Boris Green, and Mick Young. We went to Bendigo to talk with Jake Middleton, Henderson’s step son. Here is what we discovered. There were four of you in Bendigo Wednesday early evening, September 26, 1962. We know you left the Ballarat police station about 4 PM but by 6:30 PM, you were in the back seat of your car, one person beside you, one person in the front driving the car and a second vehicle was behind you. Jake identified the other people from pictures. Hannam was driving your car, mystery man in the back with you, Lindemann driving the second car. Second car was not Henderson’s Ute, but an older, more beat up Holden. So we asked where is the other vehicle?”

Charlie entered the conversation. “I had Peter run a check on stolen cars missing on or about that time and found a report of a burned out car Sept. 29, 1962, no license plate, don’t know the owner, still parked in the junk yard, outside of Ballarat. He went out there and discovered it was a Holden. It was delivered this afternoon to the police station in Ballarat. Now, the Ute that they took from Henderson is in Melbourne, and I am having it picked up as we speak.”

“This is Danny. Several of my colleagues have completed the interviews from A&E staff on Saturday Dec. 5 ,1964. They interviewed six staff members who worked midnight to noon on that shift. Four of them recognized the mystery man from the photographs we had. He was dressed in greens, looked like an aide, not a nurse or a doctor, no name tag, showed up about 6 AM. Pushed carts around as well as wheelchairs. None of the four staff knew who he was. He watched Lucien, Joseph, Hugh and the security team leave and then hung around until Richard and James left the area. He could have easily overheard the phone call to Aaron. No one saw where he went. No one asked him who he was.” 

Richard looked at Aaron, who had stopped taking notes, began to have some trouble breathing, “Aaron, what can we do to help you?” Immediately, Gus walked up to Aaron, “Aaron, here, let me help you. Look at me. Deep breath mate, another.” Aaron began to tremble, tears in his eyes. “I was supposed to die, like Lucien was. That is what he told me. I just remembered that. Then dark, until Monday, I think up here. Is that right?” Aaron said, with great emotion in his voice. 

“Aaron, I know that I could be the one who that guy hit, instead of you. Do you recall anyone tailing you on Saturday morning, early afternoon, someone you did not recognize?” Gus asked. “No, I wasn’t aware of anyone,” Aaron told him, rubbing his neck. Gus looked at Diane, nodded his head, and she left the room, came back with cold packs for his neck. By then Lucien was up on his crutches, positioned behind Aaron and was working on his neck. “Thank you Blake, you are making it feel better.” Richard wrote a script for Aaron and Diane was out the door again to return very quickly with a medication to add to Aaron’s tea. “Here you go, drink this for us” Richard told him. 

“Ballarat folks, we just lost our scribe. Let us get him into bed. Don’t go away,” Richard told the group. Rose asked, “Jean is Aaron alright?” “Yes, he remembered getting whacked in the neck and head, frightened him, his neck tensed up. He is being attended to. I will scribe for the rest of the meeting,” Jean told the group. 

Richard and Gus returned to the room, leaving Diane to help Aaron get settled. “Let’s get back to our meeting,” Richard told everyone. “Yes, this is Alice. James and I spent most of the morning in the morgue. This is the skeletal remains update. The skeleton is of a male, probably 30 to 40 years old, who has been lying on top of the ground, exposed to the elements for over two years. Skeleton shows fairly typical decay. His shoes or boots were missing.” “Alice, what about the head wound? Was he shot like I remembered?” Lucien asked. “Yes, Lucien. The bullet entered the foramen magnum, bullet exited the forehead. He had a recently healed right leg fracture and an old fracture of the left wrist,” Alice explained to the group. 

“Alice, um, that guy, he walked strangely, peculiar gait. Thought maybe his boots were too tight, didn’t fit him very well. He lagged behind us when we were walking. I thought he might have parked the cars, did something with them, got behind us, trying to get caught up or something,” Lucien told her. 

James jumped into the conversation at that point, “Major, keep talking about him, the way he walked. What more can you recall?” “When we stopped for the night, the first thing he did was take his boots off, sat on the ground to rest, rubbed his left ankle,” Lucien told them. “Lucien, we found damage to the bone structure of that ankle. There was a piece of metal, perhaps from a deflected bullet embedded in the left ankle. Surprised he did not have it removed, repaired. Probably occurred within the last year of his life,” Alice explained to Lucien.

“Alright, couple more things to report on. Danny and I found a bullet casing several yards away from the skeleton. Covered up in the undergrowth, looked like it had been in the elements for quite a while. Also, Matthew, anything special about the boots you discovered in Henderson’s cabin?” Bill asked. “Nothing obvious, but we will look at them again in the morning. I will take them to the shoe repair shop and get their opinion, especially on the left boot,” Matthew said. 

After all reported, Lucien asked, “Um what about the key in the bank box? What does that fit? What town? Any ideas?” “Well, Blake, as if we have not been busy enough, doing all of your investigative work ahead of the really important stuff that is paying all of our salaries, no it has not risen to the top of the pile, yet,” Matthew answered him. “Yes, right, sorry Matthew, am just thinking about myself. Yes, that is right. Sorry.” 

“Matthew, this is Jean. I have a question for you. Did Lucien talk to you about renewing our vows on Christmas Day? Did he?” Everyone heard the laughter from the Blake house. First Alice was laughing, then Rose joined in, and finally Matthew and James. “Jean, this is James. Matthew has high tailed it out of here for some reason, probably someone at the front door. He has left me to answer your question. Simply put, Yes. Matthew told us last evening what Lucien was going to spring on you. We all told him there needed to be more warning than what Lucien probably gave you. Sounds like he just blurted it out, right?” “Yes, he did. And because he did, he will buy us new wedding bands for the ceremony. Informed him of that fact this afternoon,” Jean told the group. “Well, yes that is what I am going to do. We pick them out tomorrow. Now I need some money. Do I have a bank account, Jean?” Lucien playfully asked. Charlie quickly answered, “You know you do, Boss. I will get the money from the bank tomorrow.”

Gus piped up. One more item before we all conclude this call. “Matthew, how is the leg doing?” “Gus, this is Alice. He has not returned to the phone yet. Rose and I are managing him. Complaining but not too badly. I will have him call in to Diane later this evening.”

Of course, Lucien needed the last word, “Wait, one final item. I have been studying the notebooks that Hannam and I have. I need several of you, with an investigative, creative approach, to help me on this. I am hoping we can have a session to brainstorm them. Who? When?” “Lucien, I will come back sometime this week and look at them with you. I suggest you probably need a Doc to help with the drug protocols,” Rose told him. Jean entered the conversation, “Lucien, I think that Aaron would like to work with you. And what about Paul? We could ask them both tomorrow. I will help you as well.” “Seems like a plan to me. I need a jump start. This is going to be a doozey of a challenge,” Lucien told them. “Rose, Paul is coming late afternoons for the rest of the week. Plan your trip around that. Stay over if you need to, eat dinner with us,” Gus told her.

“I will bring Aaron’s and Jean’s notes with me to Ballarat tomorrow when I return for my appointments, group session. Think that is everything, right?” Richard told the group. ‘”Wait, one more thing. Aaron update. He is asleep, stable, I will watch him tonight. He told me that the memories of being hit just came out of nowhere, so fast, didn’t know he even remembered what happened. He did not have time to process what that man told him, before he got hit,” Diane told the group. “Diane, have him call me tomorrow to talk, will you?” Alice told her. “Of course, Dr. Harvey.”

Rose and Alice continued to sit at the kitchen table and chat. James and Matthew got a whisky bottle, some glasses, went to the sunroom to chat for the first time since Lucien was discovered in James’ A&E treatment room. Bill and Peter were discussing who would have the nighttime shift at the house and who would accompany James on the train for his return to Melbourne. 

“Alice, do you think Aaron –“ Rose started, stopped before she could finish her thought. “Rose, Aaron is still recovering from his injury. I think it is good he is now remembering more about the actual injury, even if it scares him. That young man is very lucky. As is Lucien. The Mystery Man is a killer. Placed Lucien in danger for months and months and then tried to kill him. He nearly succeed with both of those men. We need to figure out what in the world Lucien did to him or his family or what – that would put Lucien in that man’s crosshairs for so long. Aaron was just going to be collateral damage. Could have been Gus, if the telephone call from A&E was to him or maybe Charlie or Danny, when they stopped him in the hallway. I have no doubt our group will figure this out, eventually.”

Jean and Lucien changed into their night clothes and walked to the small bedroom. As they walked by Aaron’s room, Gus and Diane were still sitting with him. Gus came out to tell them both ‘Goodnight’ and if they needed anything to ring Diane. Jean asked him, “Gus, are you doing alright? This has to be so hard for you as well.” “Drove it home to me tonight – that I could be the one who nearly got killed by that maniac. Just a difference in where the telephone call came from. Need to take care of Aaron, help him get over this episode. See you two in the morning.”

Once they were in the room, Jean helped Lucien take off the knee brace, and put on the one with softer padding, and they crawled into bed. They hugged each other, held on for a long time, some tears from both of them. “You know Jeannie, I should not have survived my head injury, don’t know how I did, so many drugs, serious neck injury, not a physician to evaluate it until now – “ “Look at me my love, you survived, you are in bed with me, and you will have to answer to me,” Jean told him giggling. “And what should I answer to you – what on earth are you doing to me? Oh my goodness, he um well you blindsided me. Oh that feels so good, my lady,” Lucien tried to answer her while Jean was handling Radcliffe, who was becoming erect. “Jean, do you see what just happened?” “Lucien, I believe the two of us have you under our power now.” “I most certainly think so. Thank you for rerouting my morbid thoughts. Don’t need to dwell on them now. Don’t need to go into the dark hole.”

“Now, my love, we have to plan Christmas. I am going to ask several of our Group Session couples to help us get everything we need. So, how many trees do you want? Which rooms?” “Jean I want three trees, one for the room with the TV, one in our bedroom, and one in the sunroom. We can take the small one that Rose brought for the party back with us for the Surgery. Bet we will need some more decorations, won’t we?” Lucien told her, with a grin developing on his face. He reached for her, kissed her and then said, “And mistletoe, hung all over the house so I can grab you anywhere, and kiss you. Oh, I have missed this season with you, so much. Can Santa Claus come as well?” Lucien said, with the little boy look beginning to appear on his face for the first time. “Of course, Santa will go on my list as well, for you, Blake and Jenny.” “Have you been naughty or nice, Lucien?” Jean teased him. “Well, Jean Blake, you have been very naughty this evening. And so far, I think I have been quite nice.” “I know you told me earlier that you wanted your favorite lamb dinner, a chocolate ganache cake. Does that still sound good to you?” Jean asked him. “Yes, it does, really does. And I want presents, lots of presents under the trees. Everyone gets a present from me, everyone who is staying with us for the holidays, helped you while I was gone,” Lucien said, almost gleefully. “Now do you realize just how many that might be? What are you thinking?” Jean asked, hoping he had thought about this. “Going to talk to the jeweler tomorrow about my ideas. Hope there is time to do what I want to do,” he concluded. “Are you going to tell me?” “No, I am most certainly not, my love.”

“So let’s discuss the wedding bands. I want to have new matching bands for us. I will wear your Mother’s ring as I am now. Let’s pick them out tomorrow, get them sized,” Jean told him. “Of course, that is just fine with me,” Lucien told her, kissing her left hand, then working his way to her neck and then her lips. “Lucien, what about the vows? The original ones from our wedding day or should we write our own updated version?” Jean asked him. “Well, I had not thought about that part of it. Updating our vows would be interesting. Reflect why we are doing this, why all of our extended family are there with us. And who will read the vows? Do we just talk our way through it or what? What would you like to do, Jeannie? Did I create a monster here?” Lucien asked her, looking a bit overwhelmed. “Well, it sounds like a lot to think about doesn’t it?” Jean said.

There was a knock on the door, “It is Diane. You two alright so far?” “Yes, Diane could you come in, please?” Jean asked. “We are planning the ceremony to renew our marriage vows. So much to think about and – “ “Dr. and Mrs. Blake, do whatever you two want to do but have fun with this very special occasion. It is your day to tell the world you two are still a couple, you have survived. You have decided to exchange new wedding bands. New vows as well? The two of you are doing this for very special reasons – I think your initial vows need to be personalized. You have lived months together, months apart, stayed alive for each other. Let the vows reflect that. And your friends who will be sharing in the occasion want to be a part of it – let them be involved,” Diane said.

They did not notice that Gus was standing at the door, listening in. “Yes, I volunteer right now to write your new vows,” Gus said with a chuckle. “I don’t trust you that far, Gus Wilson,” Lucien said with grin, shaking his index finger at him. “I will be in the lounge tonight. Got an early surgery schedule in the morning. As always, if you need anything, let me know.” “Thanks Gus for your concern and care. See you tomorrow,” Jean told him.

After both Diane and Gus left the room, Jean asked Lucien, “Need your back worked on?” “Of course I do. Will probably fall asleep on you. But you know, I wake up needing you, wanting you. Is that alright? I know it is different than before, but –“ Lucien told Jean, looking longingly at her. “Lucien, every night now, I know where you are, that you are safe, that you want me. For over two years, I had no earthly idea where you were, if you were in danger. You falling asleep – with my hands all over your back – presents no problem to me. I know I will awaken in your arms in the morning and we will love each other. That pleases me to no end, my love.”


	33. The Loss of 26052

Ch. 33 The Loss of 26052

The emergency that prevented Dr. Hugh Alexander from the information sharing session Monday evening was predictable, even expected He spent the entire evening in the Tropical Disease Unit fighting for Robert Hannam’s life and in the end, he was unsuccessful in this task. Hannam was just too ill to recover and at 12:30 AM, December 15, 1964, Hugh declared Robert Hannam, Army Number 26052, deceased. He stood looking at Hannam, who was calm for the first time that evening. After completing his notes in Hannam’s medical record, Hugh wrote notes to himself about how to deliver this information to his Major. First, I call Richard, tell him, talk with him, even though it is so very late. I need to debrief. My God, I am tired, spent. As elated as James was when he recognized the Major just ten days ago, I am at the opposite end of the spectrum with the loss of a window into the Major’s disappearance.

Sitting in the lounge in the Tropical Diseases Unit, Hugh picked up the telephone and called his friend and colleague. “Richard, this is Hugh. I know this is terribly late but I need your guidance. Hannam has passed. How should we handle telling the Major?” Hugh asked, feeling profoundly tired, exhausted. He was certain his voice reflected his emotional state. Richard asked him, “Hugh, let’s talk about you. First, are you alright? Is anyone with you?” “Richard I am still in the Tropical Disease Unit, sitting in the empty lounge. Don’t want to go to Lucien’s floor quite yet. Really beat, Richard.” 

“Yes, of course, and you have every right to be. Remember to eat something, drink some tea. So let’s talk strategy now. I think we all need to be on the floor in the morning so we can inform the Major – together, as the POW Team. We will support him as his POW mates, like we helped each other in camp so many years ago. James returns from Ballarat about 8:30 or so. I will leave a page for Joseph and Gus to call me. I will tell them what has occurred and ask them to meet us at 8:30 on the floor. Why don’t you call Diane and inform her? She can tell Carol and Aaron in the morning. No one is to tell Lucien or Jean about this until we are all present,” Richard said to Hugh. 

“Richard, I will call James in the morning before he leaves the Blake House for the depot. So I am thinking about 5 AM. He can tell Alice, Matthew, Rose and Bill. That way he knows what is going on here in hospital. Does that sound alright?” Hugh asked. “Yes it does. Let’s leave updates with either Diane or Carol so we can keep track of who knows the plan. Hugh, try to rest. You have had a long, stressful night. I know that Gus is in the lounge in the POW wing. He may be sleeping there but will help you, talk with him, if you feel like it,” Richard told Hugh. “Richard, thank you. Think I will stay here for a while, drink some tea, eat something,” Hugh said, with a tiredness in his voice that he could not hide. “Richard, do you think the Major will blame me for um –“ “Hugh, of course not. We all know that you did your best, and sometimes, it may not be enough. Hannam is a good example of that. Take some time to unwind, take care of yourself, my good friend,” Richard told his colleague.

“Hugh, I am beginning to map out what I will tell the Major. We had a long talk this afternoon about beginning to come to grips with the potential demise of Hannam. I hoped it would not happen so quickly,” Richard told him. “Richard, do you think the Major will slip into one of his dark holes?” “Hugh, our job will be to try and prevent that. We know he is a strong man, mentally tough for all of us when we were in camp. We must help him find that inner strength, the courage, that we all know he has. Help him remember he is our leader, still our Major, our leader.”

Lucien jerked awake. It felt like the entire bed lurched and then settled back down. Seems early. Why did I wake up like that? What startled me? As he lay next to Jean, who was still sleeping peacefully, he realized he had a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. His head began to pound. His anxiety had increased. What is happening to me? Can’t remember what I was dreaming, thinking, just have this strange feeling, haven’t felt like this since I have been in hospital. 

“Um Jeannie, are you awake? Jeannie, I need you, need to talk, ah, are you waking up?” Lucien asked her, pleading, getting more agitated as the seconds went by. When she did not answer him, he put his hand on her check, kissed her gently, “Please wake up for me, my love. I need to talk. Something is going on with me. You need to help me, please,” Lucien told her. 

Jean felt his closeness, thought she heard him talking softly, then louder, more agitated. “Lucien, what is making you feel so bad? What is happening? How can I help you?” Jean told him, still trying to wake up. “Jeannie, terrible feeling, something has happened, don’t know what, or to whom, but well maybe, um bad feeling about someone close, don’t know who it could be.” “Lucien, were you dreaming?” “Don’t think so, don’t know, but someone is very sick, dying, and the um only person ah is Hannam. Could he have passed? No, Jeannie, can’t be, no, he can’t die, he knows so much that I can’t remember and um ah – “ “Lucien, you and Richard talked about him yesterday. Maybe that is why he is bubbling around your subconscious now. Could that be it?” Jean asked him, holding his hands, kissing his neck. 

“Keep talking to me please, Lucien. Let me know what you are thinking,” Jean pleaded with him. “Um Jean, if Robert doesn’t recover, it he doesn’t, then what do I do? How do I figure out what happened?” Lucien asked, tears in his eyes, his mouth twitching, beads of sweat on his face. “Lucien, listen to me. Look at me. Our group of investigators, plus you and me, we will unpack what happened. You have only been back and aware of your surroundings for 10 days or so. We have unpacked quite a bit for you already. Each memory, each piece of a memory you tell us, we write it down, and we work with it, put it into the puzzle, figure the pattern out,” Jean explained to him. 

“As an example, Jean, look at those two notebooks that I studied yesterday and got nowhere with them. See that is what I mean. Don’t know, just don’t know anything, I don’t,” Lucien moaned out loud, shaking his head back and forth. “But, you listen here, listen to me Lucien Blake, turn your head this way, look at me, you asked for help, and have four of us lined up to help you figure them out. WE WILL DO THIS! Do you hear me? Do you understand what I just said?” Jean told him, talking louder, speaking slowly. “I hear you Jean, but I um well, feeling very tentative this morning, sensing failure, not moving forward, sliding backwards. Jeannie, hold me, tightly, make me feel better about um this dreadful feeling that is hanging over me. Please,” Lucien pleaded with her. 

Jean helped him place his face on her chest, held on to him as tightly as she could. He began to sob, tremble, and moan. Jean pressed the call button. She needed to share what was happening with Diane or Carol. Perhaps one of them could suggest a way out of the hole he was starting to slide into this morning. “Lucien, do not leave me. Please. Let us help you,” Jean said, almost begging with him to stay with her.

Carol walked into the room, hearing Lucien weeping, hiccupping occasionally, seeing the fear in Jean’s eyes. “Carol, Lucien thinks something happened to Hannam. He is so upset. Trying to help calm him down. More than I know –” Jean explained. Aaron, upon hearing the sobbing coming from Jean and Lucien’s small bedroom, entered without knocking, and walked to the bedside very quickly. “Carol, I will stay with Blake while you page Richard. Jean and I will talk with him,” Aaron said, as he took charge of the situation. Very quickly, Aaron handed Jean her robe to cover up with. “Thank you,” Jean mouthed. 

“Aaron, do you feel better than last evening? You certainly sound like it. We are just passing the mental anxieties around aren’t we? I did not scream today, I was close to it, but no, not this morning,” Lucien said as Jean continued to hold him tightly. “Dr. Blake, hopefully, we both can pass these anxieties to someone else, and the sooner the better for the two of us. Jean, how can I help the two of you?” “Aaron, Lucien thinks something dreadful has happened, to someone we know, someone close, and he is suggesting it is Hannam. Talk to us about Hannam, malaria, probable outcomes for Hannam,” Jean told him, reaching for Aaron’s hand, inviting him to sit on the edge of their bed. Aaron began to sketch out Hannam’s disease and what the typical course of the infection. He started in general terms, worked his way up to a ‘Grand Rounds’ style analysis, backtracking when Jean got a perplexed look on her face, and then continued. He spent about 20 minutes detailing Hannam’s situation. As he finished, he again went over the highly probable outcome of Hannam, his impending demise, and he predicted it would happen within the next few hours. 

As Carol entered the room, she heard Aaron state slowly, as he was holding Lucien’s face, making him look directly at him, “Lucien, you must have the courage to accept that this is going to happen. And you have the support of your POW group to help you. Blake, you will survive this, you will have the strength to deal with it. You do, my friend.” 

When Richard talked to Carol about her analysis of Lucien’s situation several decisions were quickly made. She was not to return to the room. Since Aaron did not know about Hannam’s death, Richard suggested that she let Jean, Lucien and Aaron handle it together. Carol would have to bluff her way too much, as would Richard, and Lucien would pick up on Hannam’s death very quickly. She stayed at the doorway listening to Aaron’s explanation, his careful approach, his genuine concern for his patient, Lucien Blake. She thought to herself, that is one fine physician, one whom I need to know better. There is no doubt that he will be added to James’ POW team as soon as he recovers from his head injury and I will be working with him again. 

Carol listened as Aaron concluded his discussion with Lucien, walked into the room, and asked the trio, “Anyone ready for breakfast? I have it in the warmer. Let’s go into your room Lucien, and get organized.” “Yes, I am hungry. Let’s get a move on it Lucien,” Jean told him. “No excuses, Blake, let’s go,” Aaron chimed in. “Of course, how can I refuse the two of you? Um, I need some clothing to put on. Thank you once again for helping me this morning, Aaron. Not totally over the feeling, but not as intense now,” Lucien said as he reached for Jean’s hand to hold and Aaron’s hand to shake. 

Lucien walked slowly into his hospital room, Carol helped him settle into the bed, changed the knee brace, elevated his leg, and gave him a breakfast tray along with an extra plate of food. Aaron, Jean and Carol each picked up a tray from the cart and Carol poured each person a cup of tea. “Thank you. I can never ever tell all of you that as much as I need to. I hope you know what you all mean to me,” Lucien said with much emotion. 

“Now, Aaron tell me how you feel, how is your neck, did you sleep last night?” Lucien asked. “You know, I move from physician to patient, back and forth don’t I, Major,” Aaron said. “Wait, wait a minute, I am sorry Dr. Blake. I should not have addressed you that way. Only your POW mates can do that. I have no right, I am so sorry,” Aaron said, stumbling around, turning red, shaking his head slowly. “Aaron, I don’t know what they would say, but I am not offended. We are beginning to know each other, we are going though similar episodes of severe head injuries, caused by the same bloody maniac. We are definitely ‘mates’ with regard to that without question. So you did not answer my questions, did you?” Lucien gently told Aaron, as he tried to decrease the tension showing in Aaron’s face. 

“Dr. Blake, I slept well, figure Richard slipped me something. Realizing what happened before I got whacked has helped me understand that I could do nothing to stop that man. He wanted us both in the ground – and nearly succeeded. My neck does not hurt like it did, and for that matter neither does my head. Perhaps, I got distracted this morning talking with you, do you think?” Aaron suggested. 

Jean entered the conversation, “Aaron, I can only compliment you on your approach to Lucien this morning. You took command, talked him back up from the hole he was trying to crawl into. Thank you so much.” Jean stood up, walked to Aaron, hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek. Lucien, smiling at Aaron, said, “Thank you. I now know why we are taking you home with us for the holidays.” Aaron grinned and started turning red at the ears. 

Once they were all finished eating, Carol told the group, “Richard called in and he will be here about 8:15. There is plenty of time for all of you to get cleaned up, get dressed. Lucien, let Jean and I help you into the shower.” “Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me. See you later this morning, Aaron,” Lucien told him. “Of course. I am going to my room and take a shower as well.” 

After Lucien was in the shower, Carol walked quickly to Aaron’s room to talk with him. “Aaron, I need to talk with you. I thought you handled Dr. Blake with extreme competence this morning, as good as Richard would have. I commend you for that. And now, um I need to tell you something. Please sit down for me. Robert Hannam is deceased, about 12:30 this morning. The entire POW crew will be here at 8:30 to tell Blake. I think you have prepared him for that eventuality. I thank you, they will all thank you. You are very talented, young man,” Carol told him, as she hugged him. She felt him tremble, take in a deep breath, shed a few tears. “Carol, I did not know.” “And Dr. Gage, I think it was good that you did not. You did not have to hide what you knew to Lucien or Jean. You were very genuine, very thoughtful, a good friend to both Jean and Lucien,” Carol told the young physician. 

By 8:15, Lucien was back in his bed, knee brace on, leg elevated, even had his hair combed, reading the paper, drinking some tea. Jean was nearby, working on her Christmas list. Aaron wandered back in to ask Blake a question. “Lucien, would you work on my neck? It has tightened up once again. I think I was too hasty this morning saying it was better,” Aaron asked his friend. “Of course, come here, sit on the edge of the bed, I will help you.” 

The noise level in the hallway began to increase as the POW crew assembled. Once James arrived from the depot, Richard walked into the room and said, “Morning Major. Heard you had a rocky start today. Doing better now?” Lucien was about to answer him when he realized the size of the crowd. James, Hugh, Gus – and even Joseph, yes Joseph – were standing around his bed. Aaron got up from the side of the bed and moved closer to Jean. Looking at Richard, Lucien tentatively stated, “Um, Richard, ah, yes, well, it is Robert Hannam, right? Just tell me yes or no. No long explanations, please. Not right now,” Lucien said, tears in his eyes. “Yes, Major. About 12:30 this morning,” Hugh told him, as he walked up to the bedside and took his Major’s hand. “And that was your emergency last night, couldn’t be at our meeting, right, Hugh?” Lucien asked, with his voice very soft. Aaron was behind Jean holding her shoulders, feeling her shiver. “Jean, let’s get you up closer to Lucien,” Aaron told her as he walked Jean up to the bedside, helped her sit down next to him. 

Lucien reached for Jean and held her. ”Jeannie I knew, I just knew, didn’t I?” “Yes you did, my love. But we will work our way through this. We will,” Jean told him, crying softly. He wiped her tears gently away. “Jeannie, I love you. His death just makes it more of a mystery, doesn’t it,” Lucien told her as he kissed her hands.

Separately, Hugh, James, Richard and finally Joseph, walked up to their Major, talked softly to him, hugged him, and then wiped his tears away. Each of them talked to Jean, hugged her, comforted her as well. Gus and Aaron stood at the foot of the bed, watching the care and concern and love that the group of five men shared with each other. Their friendship was forged in the POW camp and continued on to this day. Both Gus and Aaron felt privileged to be a part of the medical team for Blake. And to be considered a part the extended Blake family.

Richard asked Carol to call Alice and Matthew so they could talk with Lucien. Lucien responded to their concern and offers of coming down to spend the day with him, with a simple, “I imagine I will have someone checking on me every hour of the day. Will get tired of it pretty quickly. Maybe a visit later in the week,” Lucien told them. “But thank you for your telephone call. Jean and I will take care of each other.”

By 9 AM, only Hugh and James remained in the room with Lucien and Jean. “Major, we want to do a physical exam, get bloods, a urine sample, share the latest drug and testosterone levels. Will you talk with us, let us examine you this morning?” James asked him. “Yes, that is fine. Jeannie, please stay with me, will you?” “You know I will, Lucien.” After the exam was completed, Hugh began to detail the findings. “Major, your blood pressure still remains low, and I propose that we decrease the medication we have you on. With the drug levels continuing to decrease – they are down 45% from your admission 10 days ago – I think that is appropriate now. Let’s talk about the testosterone levels. As you predicted Major, they were depressed on admission on the 5th of December and now have increased, but are still below normal. Your ears are showing little evidence of the fungal infection now. I have asked Paul to bring another bottle of medication for you this afternoon. You have not reported any cardiac issues since the first morning. Your neurological exam is normal. And that pleases all of us. Your knee is still swollen and I know both Paul and Gus will be here this afternoon to work with you on it. Your back continues to improve. Let us know if you are running low on the lotion, Jean.” “Yes, of course I will,” Jean told him. 

“And we have something else to share with you about the drugs. The lab is using the vials found in Hannam’s gear to determine which ones are still in your system. They are using them like standards, even as they are attempting to analyze them, identify them. The three drugs are numbered 14, 65 and 70. They are decreasing at the same rate. The lab predicts you should have a decline of approximately 75% – by the time we release you to return home. What about next Tuesday, on December 22nd in Ballarat?” James told his Major, beginning to grin at Lucien. “What do you think of that idea?”

“Wait, wait, James, so you are proposing I can go home, to Ballarat, my home, my bed, next week. But, um will the shower be completed by then? I know Richard suggested Christmas Day,” Lucien asked no one in particular. “I thought you would be excited about this –“ James said. “I am, I am, just well, Jean and I have a great deal to do before we can leave here. Got to get organized, get our help at home lined up, you all coming to our house for the holidays, right?” Lucien rambled on, smiling, grinning, reaching for Jean’s hands to hold. “All good news, Lucien, right?” Jean hugged him as she kissed him. “Yes, my love. Yes.”

“Jean, I have read through your medical chart and you seem to doing very well. Off of your sleeping medication, no cardiac issues reported. Do you need a refill for your pain medication? What about the cream for your leg?” James asked. “James, I am fine. I am not being stubborn, I am being truthful. My neck and leg are being carefully attended to by Lucien, who is being gentle, and not making me yell at him. Yes, let’s ask Paul for more of the cream for my scar, since we are leaving in a week. Don’t need any more pain medication at this time.“ 

“James, can you tell me how Alice and Matthew are doing? How far along are the fellows are with the new shower?” Jean asked. “Jean, the noise level was pretty significant yesterday morning, but in the afternoon, much less so. Nobody got hurt that I know of, only a few Bloody Hells, but the three of them seemed to be talking to each other by the time they finished for the day. Lots of supplies delivered as well. A couple of my Monday afternoon patients volunteered to help them. So could be as many as five working on it. Matthew was no worse for wear after spending all day in the field. Alice let me work with her in the morgue. Well, Blake, I had some issues with the smell, the body, just about everything. She let me know that I disappointed her, I was not Lucien Blake!” James told them, chuckling at himself. 

“I will leave the three of you and go next door to check on Aaron this morning,” Hugh told them. As Hugh walked into Aaron’s room, he found him lying down in bed, staring at the ceiling. “Aaron, your turn this morning. Tell me how you are feeling today.” “Hugh, Lucien is helping me with my neck, as is Paul and Gus. My headache was less this morning, I think, but when I was told about Hannam, I tensed up. Carol packed me in cold compresses and I feel better.” 

“Let me do a physical exam, order another x-ray of your skull, draw bloods. I want to show you the first skull x-ray and the latest one. I think you will see progress, healing is occurring, and I am hoping to see improvement in your neurological exam as well. I can see that you are still wearing sunnies and earplugs.” “Hugh, yes I am. I am not reading, listening to the wireless yet. Still makes me feel so bad. Hopefully, this will begin to dissipate soon. Very tired of being bored but Jean and Lucien are most helpful. Looking forward to going home with them. Do you have an idea when that will be?” Aaron asked. “We are thinking one week from today. How does that sound?” “Good and bad. Good, out of hospital, can enjoy the holidays with all of my new found friends, sit in the sun. Bad, I hope I do not cause Alice too much trouble,” Aaron told him, shaking his head from side to side. “If you need help, she will take care of you. She is quite talented, thoughtful,” Hugh told him. 

“Did you hear about my episode last night during the telephone call to Ballarat? That is what I am concerned about, Hugh,” Aaron told him. “Look at me, Aaron. If that happens again, we take care of you, it is that simple. Don’t fret about something that may not happen again,” Hugh explained to him. “Yes, you are being more positive about my prognosis than I am. Hope you are right,” Aaron said, trying to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

After everyone left the floor, Lucien asked Jean, “Will you walk with me to the evidence room and sit at the table with me. I am taking my sketching supplies, must begin to process what happened, need you by my side, need you close to me. Will you do that?” “Of course, I will, my love. You did not even need to ask me,” Jean told him kissing his hands. “Yes, lets go. Jeannie. Will you tell me if I am too needy, taking up too much of your time? I know I need to assume more responsibility for my behavior, but about the time I think I am able to – um” “Yes, something else happens, right? Richard and I talked about this yesterday. He thinks we help you when needed and over time, you will be able to do more yourself. I just want you feeling better, each day. You feel better, I feel better,” Jean told him, smiling at him. “Of course, my love, yes.” 

Once they were in the room, Carol brought some tea, and Lucien explained his sketches, mainly they were about Hannam and him, in the field, in villages, sometimes they were in tropical jungles, but other times, in metropolitan areas. Jean asked, “Lucien, is this Manila? Or perhaps Saigon? Or Hong Kong?” “Jean, you are spot on, it is Saigon, the residence of the Australian Ambassador, Brian Clarence Hill. Hannam and I were stationed there as undercover agents for about 9 months.” Both Jean and Carol looked at each other and then at Lucien. Both shouted in unison, “Lucien!” “What did I do? Oh my goodness, yes, I remembered a new part of my disappearance, didn’t I? Bloody Hell! We need a time frame, right?” 

“Lucien, I will look at your passports and see when you were in South Viet Nam and figure out when you could have been in Saigon. Let me get them. Yes, the military one has you in South Viet Nam from July 1963 until April 1964,” Jean told him, and then got up and wrote it on the timeline. “Jeannie, that makes sense because I celebrated our wedding anniversary there, by myself. All I could think about, missing you, but could not get away from the second man to let you know I was alive. I think Hannam would have let me contact you, but he was under that man’s control as well.” “So, Lucien both Hannam and the Mystery Man were with you? All of the time?” Jean asked. “Um Jean, Hannam was, but there were times, when the second man, the Mystery Man, was gone, for a week or two. Never knew where he went,” Lucien explained. 

Carol asked, “Can I ask a question? So you are there doing intelligence. What did they order you to do? Could you understand the commands? Did you practice medicine at all?” “Don’t know – yet. Let me think on this. I know during that the time if I seemed to feel less in a fog, the next day it was back, in spades. Kept me like that until, well, Hannam stepped the drug concoction down in summer, we were in Cambodia, several weeks before I got whacked in the head. Richard thinks I got hit in October, is that right? So that would be sometime in 1964, correct? Didn’t expect to remember so much this morning,” Lucien told both Carol and Jean. “Lucien, you will recall memoires – this is what you and I talked about this morning. Give us the clues, the crumbs you recall, and let us piece it together, understand?” “Yes, my love,” as he kissed her passionately. “Put it one the timeline, please.”

Richard made a stop by Lucien’s room before he left for Ballarat, his afternoon appointments, and group session. “Major, I am putting the rest of the day in your hands. I know that you are one strong, courageous man. You may stumble some today but you will pick yourself up. You have a good team to help you. A member of our POW group will be dropping by throughout the day. If you need any reinforcements, before they arrive, let Carol or Diane know. Danny is accompanying me this afternoon and we will be back here around 8:30 in the morning. Anything to tell Matthew or Alice?” Richard said. “Yes, tell them they will have company next Tuesday morning!” Lucien exclaimed. “Richard, I am being more practical. Could you see if Allie could come down soon, so we can talk about our return and our Christmas plans?” “Of course, I will.”

After lunch, Lucien thought he would rest, try to take a nap before the Jeweler came to talk about new wedding rings for both of them. He was stretched out in the bed, getting comfortable, a bit sleepy, when he heard a commotion in the hallway. “Uncle Lucien, you are in your room, in bed, just like you are supposed to be. I am going to join you, but I will not hurt your knee. I promised Uncle Gus that I would be careful,” Blake told him. He took his shoes off, crawled into bed before Mattie could slow him down. “Lucien, I am so sorry. He doesn’t realize that you are still recovering.” “Mattie, no damage done. Can I hold Jenny for you?” “Yes, she has been babbling about seeing Lou Lou. Here you go. Thank you for understanding their delight in seeing you.”

“Mattie, for some reason, I don’t think this is a random afternoon visit, is it? Did Joseph ask you to come?” Lucien asked quietly. “It was not only Joseph, but all of the group asked me to drop by. I am so sorry about Hannam’s death but I know you, Lucien Blake, and you are going to show all us how to handle it, with strength, grace, and courage. That is who you are,” Mattie told him as she sat on the bedside and kissed his hand, wiped some tears from his eyes. Lucien hugged the children, grinned, and let out a huge breath.

“Auntie Jean, we are here to visit you. Where were you?” Blake asked. “I was walking the floor with Aaron. We needed to stretch our legs after we ate lunch. Mattie, thank you for the visit. How is Jenny today?” Jean asked. “Everyone is doing well. Glad to see you both. I understand if you continue to recover on schedule, you and Jean and Aaron will be in Ballarat this time next week. Are you all excited?” Aaron answered for all of them, “Yes, we are! Oh, um. Sorry. I am beginning to feel like a member of the extended family. But I should not intrude on the original members.” Lucien looked at Aaron, “Aaron, Jean and I are delighted you are coming home with us. And you stay as long as you want to.” “Well, I don’t think I can make that decision, Dr. Blake. Once I get to Ballarat, I think Alice takes over my life,” Aaron told him, a silly grin developing on his face. “Yes, indeed, I think you are probably correct – for both of us, Aaron.” 

As if on cue, Carol walked into the room and told Aaron he had a telephone call from Alice and he could take it in the Physician’s Lounge. “Um yes, Carol, thank you.” Lucien laughed at Aaron, “You may be spot on, my friend.” Once he was seated in the lounge, the telephone rang and he answered, “G’day, Aaron Gage speaking.” Alice began, “Aaron, I understand you had an early morning visit with Lucien. That you worked him out of a hole he was crawling into. You are getting high praise from Carol, the POW team, and Jean. I wanted to thank you. I am glad you will be with us in Ballarat for the holidays – if that happens again to Lucien.” 

“Alice, I tried my best to have Lucien understand what was going to happen, and then found out it had already occurred. He is with Mattie and the kids now, seems pretty even tempered now. I am glad I could do something that I was trained for instead of dealing with my blasted head injury. Alice, I am so tired of it, but I know time, more time is needed. I just don’t want to be a bother to you when we are in Ballarat,” Aaron told her, voicing some of his frustration. 

“Dr. Gage, I wanted to talk with you about your episode last evening. How were you feeling this morning?” Alice inquired. ”I heard Lucien in such distress, I got out of bed and into their room without as much as a thought about myself. I was doing fine until Carol told me Hannam passed and then my neck went crazy. Blake helped me, once again. Now, I am doing alright. Going to take a nap until Paul and Gus come to work with both Lucien and me in the therapy room,” Aaron explained to her. “Alright, tell Lucien and Jean hello for me. You take it easy. In one week you will be here in Ballarat, joining the Blake family. Feel better, yes?” Alice said. “Yes, Dr. Harvey, I will do my best. I will speak with you later.”

Mattie and Jean talked softly so they did not wake up the sleeping Jenny and Lucien. Little Blake was working on Jean’s jigsaw puzzle that was spread out over a table. He was finding pieces very quickly and putting the 500 piece puzzle together. “When are you and Joseph coming up for Christmas? Do you know how long you will stay with us?” Jean asked. “We want to be there for Christmas Eve day. We are having an early Christmas with my parents. They will be on a two week cruise for the holidays and will not return until after January 1. So we will stay most of the week afterwards in Ballarat. I think we will go to Jean’s Place for part of the time,” Mattie told her. “Mattie, that sounds so good to me. I can’t wait to see what Jenny does with her presents. I know that Gus wants you to bring Blake’s erector set with you so he can play with it,” Jean said as she tried to suppress a laugh. “Yes, Jean, boys and their toys, right?” Mattie suggested.

Shortly after Joseph, Mattie and the children left, Carol walked Madge, the owner of the Jewelry store, into the room and introduced her. Based on Carol’s depiction of Lucien and Jean, Madge had selected a dozen wedding bands to show them. The three of them talked pros and cons of the rings, tried on several of them, and finally narrowed it down to two rings. “Lucien, I really like this one, it fits with your mother’s ring very well. Let me put the matching band on your finger and let’s see what it looks like on your finger,” Jean told him, with a smile on her face that was beginning to go from ear to ear. “Yes, my love, that is the one. Yes, let’s get those,” Lucien told her kissing her hand. “Excellent choice you two. Let’s use this set of sizing rings so we can be certain the rings fit you both. I will have them delivered to you by Thursday. Will there be anything else I can do for you?” Madge asked. 

“Um yes there is, Madge. It requires Jean to leave the room. Please, will you leave, shut the door. Got some serious secret stuff to discuss with Madge,” Lucien told Jean. Reluctantly Jean left the room, saying as she got near the door, “Just what are you planning, Lucien? You know I will get it out of you before Christmas day, you know that right?” Jean told him, eyebrow raised. “I can keep a secret from you and everyone else. Now, shoo!” Lucien told her, grinning. About 20 minutes later, Madge emerged from the room, smiling at both Carol and Jean who were at the nurse’s station chatting. “Carol, I will be back on Thursday with the wedding bands. Can you put my name on the list?” Madge told her. “And Jean, my lips are sealed. But you will be very happy with what you husband wants to do. Let him keep his surprise,” Madge suggested.

Paul and Gus showed up about 4 PM to work with Aaron and Lucien in the therapy room. Paul changed into swim trunks and got into the water along with them. He started with Aaron and worked intently on his neck and shoulders for several minutes before he let him try his exercises. Aaron could complete all of them but not for the number of repetitions that Gus had ordered. Then Paul began to work with Lucien’s knee, and then let him try the exercises. Aaron went through them with him and when they approached the infamous number 12, Lucien could do half of the repetitions. “Yes, we are both better, Aaron,” Lucien shouted with jubilation. “Yes, you both are,” Gus chimed in. “Paul, thank you so much. My neck is better. Yes it is,” Aaron was giving Blake high fives and laughing. “Yes it is.” 

Lucien’s room was once again filled with friends for dinner. Diane delivered two plates of food for Lucien, and single trays for everyone else – Jean, Aaron, Gus, Charlie, and Hugh joined them. Once she brought in the tea kettles, she joined them. “Blake, how was your namesake today? Did he kick your knee when he got into bed with you?” Gus asked. “No Gus, he even took his shoes off before climbing into bed with me. Read to me and Jenny until we both fell asleep. Then he read to Jean and Mattie, and then nearly finished Jean’s jigsaw puzzle. Took my mind off of Hannam, that is for certain,” Lucien told the group, smiling at them. “As a matter of fact, the entire team has been in and out all day, even Joseph dropped by to collect Mattie and the kids. Of course, Aaron and Jean have been close by all day as well as Carol and Diane. I am behaving myself, no dark holes yet. Don’t want there to be any – no um can’t be.”

General conversation among the group continued until a phone call came in from Ballarat. “Good evening, this is Richard. Calling in to check on the Major. Everyone here wants to know how you are doing. Tell us.” “Richard, I have been occupied all afternoon and I even took a nap. So far, I am doing well. Ask Jean or Aaron to confirm,” Lucien told the group. “This is Jean. I agree with him for the most part. He has talked to a jeweler about Christmas and actually banished me from the conversation. That is a first, since he has been back,” Jean told everyone, looking at Lucien, with a raised eyebrow, a silly grin. “She does not need to know everything I am thinking about for the holidays.” 

“Gus here. Matthew, how is the leg today? “Um well, you and Richard are picking on me and Blake today aren’t you? I have two women hounding me several times a day. How can I not be improving! In reality, my leg is better. Was out in the field for part of the day. Not so many pain pills.” Matthew told Gus, and everyone in Lucien’s room. “Good to hear. Rose and Alice, keep up the good work,” Gus told them, as he heard Matthew groan in the background. 

Then Matthew said, “Oh Blake, I did find one thing of interest in Henderson’s cabin today. A receipt from the Op Shop in Bendigo dated 9.24.62. This may be for the older clothing they made you wear. What do you think?” “Matthew, could be. I don’t remember putting it there. Could have been Hannam. The second guy would never have done that. Interesting. We will add it to the timeline. Ask Rose or Bill go up there and see if anyone remembers who bought the clothing, will you?” Lucien told his friend. “Lucien, this is Rose. Bill and I am going there first thing tomorrow morning. Will let you know what we discover.”


	34. Locker 34

Ch. 34 Locker 34 

After dinner, Charlie and Lucien started walking the hallway and talking. At first the conversation was about news events in South Viet Nam, about the weather, about cases the two of them had handled in Ballarat. Then Charlie said, “Oh Boss, let me tell you about the Ute, Henderson’s Ute. We recovered it, in a junk yard just outside of town, had it moved to the impound unit, and they began going through it this afternoon. It has been covered with a tarp for months, probably the entire time you were away. Parked way off in the back lot. Considerable amount of dust and dirt on the cover. Preserved the evidence in ways we would not have expected. Your fingerprints are all over the bed of the Ute. They found two other clues that you were back there. There was a food receipt from a place just outside of Melbourne from Sept. 28, 1962. On the back of it was your initials, LRB. The second piece of evidence with your name on it was dated Oct. 1, 1962 from the Oriental Medicine Shop for several bottles of malaria preventative. I am going there tomorrow to see if Paul has a record of this. The fact he did not tell me about this earlier probably means someone else handled your transaction. The Ute was removed from a street in Melbourne on Oct. 3, 1962. Don’t know why the back of it was covered.” 

“Charlie, what about other fingerprints? Hannam? Mystery Man?” “Yes, both were in the front of the Ute, on the door handles, on the steering wheel. Of course Hannam has just one set of prints on file, our Mystery Man had the four sets on file, Boris Green, Mick Young, Mark Pearce, Jonas Holman.” “ You know Charlie, I remember bouncing around the back of the vehicle. There was that canvas cover over the back, I guess to hide me. Nothing to really hold on to. But I was able to leave crumbs, wasn’t I?” Lucien told him. 

“And on a different topic, Charlie – I need you and Paul to go to the bank and take out half of my money, and then go to the jewelry store – ask Carol where it is – and pay on my account. Getting some Christmas presents for Jean and everyone. At the bank, they know who I am and who you two are, right?” Blake told him. “Yes Boss, the two of us are known there, and I will take your bank book with us,” Charlie said, wondering what Blake was purchasing. “Boss, are you going to tell me what you are buying Jean?” “No. Don’t even ask me, Charlie!” Lucien said with a silly grin.

Jean joined them and walked a lap and then Lucien changed the subject to Robert Hannam. “Will you and Charlie help me with something? I want to go through Hannam’s gear again. I don’t know what his um well you know, what he desires – Bloody Hell can’t even say it, can I?” “Lucien, where to bury him, what he wanted, is that where you were heading?” Jean asked him, reaching out to put her hand on his shoulder. “Yes, um ah yes that was it, Jean. Of course, Charlie and I will help you.” “Please, both of you. Thank you.” 

The trio slowly went through his ruck sack, duffel bag, his clothing, and looked closely and carefully for a paper, or booklet, or something that he could write his last wishes. Since he was out of the army now, as was Lucien, they did not want to contact them. Really did not want to alert them to where Lucien was. They did not locate any additional hidden compartments in the bags or his clothing. “Well, what do we do now Boss?” Charlie asked. “Ah let me think on this minute. Boots, where are his boots? Let’s also look in his bank book, ah yes, the small notebook he recorded information in, even my notebook because he might have written something in there. And yes his hat, the band of his hat. He rarely had it off.” 

Diane called the Tropical Disease Unit and found out they still had Hannam’s clothing, even his boots. Aaron volunteered to walk over with Charlie to retrieve them. Jean and Lucien got out the bank book, the small notebooks as well as his slouch hat and found nothing to help them. Jean and Lucien were drinking a cup of tea when Charlie and Aaron returned. Lucien took one boot and found the insole was loose and there was a piece of paper under it. Telephone numbers, the bank account number. Then he took the second boot and lifted up the insole and discovered another piece of paper. This piece was what he was looking for. Hannam’s final wishes were there and Lucien stopped in his tracks, his mouth dropped open, he teared up, handed the paper to Charlie. Jean grabbed his hand, Aaron put an arm around his shoulder as Charlie began to read, 

_“December 5, 1964, For Col. Lucien R. Blake, If I die from this damn malaria, I want you to handle the cremation arrangements, my burial in Ballarat. I want a soldier’s burial. You know what I want. I know you will do it for me, Blake. Take my money from the bank across from the Oriental Medicine Shop to pay for all of it. Thank you. Signed Sgt. Robert Hannam, 26052.”_

“Boss, he wrote this note here in Melbourne, when he was sick, before we found him, put it where he knew you would find it, didn’t he?” Charlie said. “I think you are right. I don’t remember him doing that while we were together,” Lucien said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Um Jean, I will ask Matthew to help me with this.” “Yes, a good idea. He can begin to make the initial arrangements for you. We will take care of his grave, he will not be alone, by himself. That is the least we can do for a soldier, someone who at the end of his life was trying to help you come back to me,” Jean said. 

Diane was listening to the foursome discussing Hannam’s death and the dispensation of his remains. She walked into the room, “Lucien and Jean, let me start the paperwork for moving Hannam’s remains from our morgue to Ballarat. I will have Hugh sign off on the paperwork in the morning, and you talk to Matthew about what funeral home. We’ll have him in Ballarat before you, Jean and Aaron are there next week. Does that sound alright?” “Of course, thank you ever so much Diane.” 

“Lucien, what do you think the telephone numbers are for? How should we pursue this angle or is it important?” Jean asked. Aaron and Charlie both looked at the paper, and after some discussion, decided that none of them were from telephone exchanges in Australia. Aaron told them, “Let me think about this. A couple of them look vaguely familiar. I need to spend some time with them. Is that alright, Lucien? Charlie?” “Yes Aaron, go for it. I have enough on my plate as it is. If you want more help or suggestions, let me know,” Charlie told him. “Aaron, do you feel well enough to tackle this?” Lucien asked, with concern in his voice. “If I get a monster headache from it, I will give the work to someone else, like Jean or Rose. But for now, let me have a job to do, need to start my brain up, get involved in your mystery, Lucien,” Aaron explained to him.

“Can I use the therapy room, Diane? I am really wound tight tonight. Haven’t been able to soak my leg and neck since we have been here. I have a bathing suit with me,” Jean asked. “Of course, you can. I will add it to your medical chart, under Gus’ name to cover our tracks, and we will tell him tomorrow, alright?” Diane told her. “Going to change as well, Lucien? Get in the warm water with me?” “Jeannie, an excellent idea. I am not going to let you enjoy the warm water by yourself. Let’s head to the room and change clothing.”

By the time Lucien took off the knee brace, changed into his swim trunks, Jean was in her swim suit. Diane walked them to the therapy room and helped Lucien get into the tank. Once they were in the water, Jean began moving her leg, rubbing it, smiled at Lucien, “Lucien, would you work with my leg?” “Of course, Jeannie. Let me see what is going on with it tonight.” They worked on a series of exercises for her leg, a few were accompanied by yelps, but for the most part she could do them. Lucien tried to do his knee exercises and found he could get further in to the repetitions for #12 than earlier in the today. “You know, this was an excellent idea, my love. Enjoy ourselves, unwind some before we go to bed. Come here, let me massage your neck and shoulders as well.” “Lucien, thank you. Everything is getting tighter, I think because we are going home, so much to do, just need to let everyone help us, not worry about it. But that is so hard for me. Have you thought about our new vows? What we are going to say to each other?” Jean asked him. “I think we block out some time tomorrow and start brainstorming some. We will come up with something that will be just fine, I know we will,” Lucien said, as he kissed her, not once, but several time. “Jeannie, I love you, I love you so much. Lean back into me, let me hold you, nibble on your neck a bit, just love you.” 

“Lucien, I enjoy talking with you, at the end of our day, about anything, everything. I so missed our time, each evening, while you were gone, felt so empty, worked just to fill the time. Do you remember what our bedroom looks like?” “Yes, I think I do. We took my mother’s studio and made it into the largest bedroom with a bath I have ever seen. I bought us a bed, a large bed, so we could have plenty of room to um, well you know yes and we – “ Lucien stopped talking, was turning purple, laughing at himself. “We did sleep there occasionally, didn’t we Jeannie?” “Lucien!”

“Do you remember when the bedframe and mattresses were delivered, how hard it was to get them through the front door, and the delivery people asked, if this bed would fit into the bedroom. They were amazed at the size of the room,” Jean fondly remembered. “And since you have been away, Arnie made a small set of steps, with carpet, for Blake to use to crawl up to the bed, get into bed with me. We did not want him struggling to get in or out of it, maybe fall on the floor. I am certain that he will want to sleep with us. I am leaving it up to you to tell him when he can’t,” Jean told Lucien, grinning at him, raising her eyebrow, punching him in the chest. 

“Folks, hate to interrupt, but there will be a call on the secure line from Ballarat in 30 minutes. Charlie will joint you there. You should walk back to the evidence room so you can take it.” “Of course, yes, we’ll get out, dry off, and be there in time. Thank you, Diane.” Lucien told her. Before he got out of the tank, he reached for Jean and kissed her one more time. “I love you.”

Tuesday evening after his group session, Richard called to talk with Jean and Lucien. Alice joined in the conversation. “Major, this is Richard. Wanted to tell you we had another successful group session with about a dozen of your mates. I don’t know who is more excited about you coming back to Ballarat. They have all missed your advice, counsel, care. Tell me how you are doing tonight.” “Richard, Jean and I were soaking in the therapy room, talking, enjoying each other’s company. Really, I am doing well, considering what happened early this morning. We found Hannam’s last wishes and Jean and I will um, yes, buy him a plot in Ballarat and he will rest there. I will tell you more tomorrow – yes, Diane is helping us too,” Lucien told him, sniffling a little bit. “Major, you need to write in your journal tonight. This has been a difficult day for you and we need to process it, talk about it on Monday, when we officially talk. Perhaps you should sketch as well,” Richard told him. “Yes, of course. I need to, very hard for me to realize Hannam has passed. But I will ask Jean to help me,” Lucien explained his reticence. 

“Alice here. Jean, I wanted to update you on the shower. The fellows are making progress, more supplies delivered, everything is hooked up, no leaks so far, will let it all rest a day and be certain they are ready to close the wall up. Looks really good, plenty of room for Lucien to get in and out of the shower. Matthew wants to talk with you about the Ute. Here he is.”

“Boss, this is Charlie. As I told the Doc this evening, we have the Ute, his fingerprints are in the bed of it, Hannam and Mystery Man’s are in the front, on the steering wheel, the doors. We know the vehicle was in Melbourne by September 28th and it was towed on October 3. Our forensic team is still going over it.” “Good work Charlie. Who is updating the timeline?” Matthew asked. “This is Jean. I will do that.”

“Guess that is all Major. Matthew and I are going to the sunroom, take a bottle of your scotch and settle the world’s troubles. Just think, next week, you will be joining us. This household is so ready for your return. Well, let me rephrase that, they are so ready for Jean’s return,” Richard told them, with a chuckle. “Yes, Richard, you are right. I remember telling you the first day you were in our house that Jean made certain we were an extended family, helping each other every day, trying to make life easier than it would be by ourselves. Jean was the manager of our house and my practice, a fantastic cook, and a good friend to all of us. Do you remember me telling you that?” Lucien asked, reaching to hold Jean’s hands. “Yes, Major I do. And I am honored to be a part of the extended Blake family household. It has grown by leaps and bounds since you have been away. And Lucien, Jean has become the key to our POW grant success. I hope you realize that. See all of you in the morning.” 

“Jeannie, ready to move to our bedroom? I am ready to stretch out, talk about our day.” “Yes, sounds very nice to me. Will you hold me? I want to fall asleep in your arms.” Once they were in bed, Jean cuddled into Lucien’s side, began to talk. “I have an idea about the ceremony. What about asking Matthew to be the MC, to keep the event moving along? He is your oldest friend. Do you think he would?” “Of course he would. Would he read the vows to us as well? Do you remember how emotional I got when we started to recite our wedding vows?” Lucien asked, as he kissed Jeannie on the neck, her hands. “Of course I remember that.” 

“I, Lucien Ratcliffe Blake, take thee Jean Mary Beazley, as my lawful wedded wife – so hard to catch my breath then, tears in my eyes, and you just looking at me, smiling, having the time of your life, you were so ready to – “ Lucien stopped saying the vows, wiped his eyes, smiled at Jeannie and kissed her passionately. Jean picked up the vows – “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer or poorer – “ and then Jean stopped to breathe, swallow, wipe some tears. They both finished the vows in unison – “To love and to cherish, till death do us part.” “Lucien, Lucien, um I am going to cry so much during this, what are you going to do with me?” “I will kiss away every single tear. It may take all afternoon, but we are going to get through our vows. I love you. Come here, let me hold you. Thank you for waiting for me. Believing that I would be back.” 

“Jeannie, getting really tired. Will you that me hold you?” “Lucien, of course. Let’s get some sleep. Our time in the therapy room, the warm water, has made me sleepy as well.” “Good night Jean.” They both fell asleep quickly, and awakened when they heard traffic in the hallway. Breakfast was being delivered, Aaron was talking with Diane, and James was laughing at something that the two of them were discussing. “Lucien, I think we slept the night away, didn’t we my love? Bet James comes in very soon, to ‘check’ on us.” “Jeannie, I know you are right. This is the first night I have slept undisturbed since I was admitted to hospital. No night mares, no knee pain, not a headache, and I had you in my arms all night. How can I ask for anything more?” 

James knocked on the door, “Hey Major, time to get up. Breakfast is here.” “Yes, James, we will be right out,” Jean told him, kissing Lucien, several times, causing him to start chuckling, laughing. “Yes James, as soon as I get out of the clutches of my wife.” 

About 8:30, Richard walked into Lucien’s room with a small Ballarat entourage. Accompanying him to Melbourne were Danny, Cec, Peter and Allie. “Good morning Major. You are looking pretty chipper this morning,” Richard told him as he walked up to Lucien, shook his hand, looked into his eyes. “Yes, Richard, had a good start to the day, I did. Cec, what a nice surprise. I did not know you were coming. Good to see you Allie and Peter,” Lucien told the group.. 

“Well, Sir, I have heard that my services will be needed on Christmas day, set up your backyard, provide drinks, a couple of cakes – um to celebrate the renewal of your vows to Jean. An excellent idea, yes, just a fine idea. I am talking to some of the staff at the Colonists’ Club to reserve part of the afternoon to help you enjoy the festivities,” Cec told Lucien. “Thank you, Cec. We are so looking forward to getting home, but lots of planning from afar. Your help and suggestions are most appreciated,” Jean told him. “Cec, how did you hear what we were planning?” Lucien asked. “I have my sources, Sir. Of course, not to be identified,” Cec told Lucien, with a grin on his face. ”Going to be a delightful afternoon.” “Yes, Cec, it is. Going to tell my gal just how much I have missed her, need her, and that she is stuck with me, gimpy knee and all.” 

Peter sat listening to the conversation, smiling, holding a package in his hands. Finally, Lucien realized what he might have with him. “Peter Crowe, what are you holding in your hands? Is that for me? Is it what I hope you have?” Lucien asked him, realizing just how much younger the Constable was than most of the people he knew. “Yes, Sir, Dr. Blake, yes, it is for you. From the Jeweler, in Ballarat. Your watch is cleaned, repaired, ready for you to have – um yes here it is Sir,” Peter stumbled his way through his speech. 

Lucien took the package, opened it, looked at the watch his father had handed him when he was just a boy, being sent away to boarding school in Melbourne, his mother barely in the ground. How frightened he was, of the unknown, wondering if his father had any love for him. Tears appeared in his eyes, he simply stared at the watch, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, swallowed slowly, looked at Jean, “Jeannie, my watch.” Jean held his hand, kissed it, “I love you Lucien Blake, you know that, my love.” “Yes I do. Um I never thought I would see this watch or you again. Now, I have both of you back in my life. So happy, so very happy.”

“Will you be alright talking with Cec, Lucien? Allie and I need to put our heads together to plan our return next week, Christmas, and everything else. We are going to the lounge to chat.” “Of course, Jean I will be fine. I have not seen Cec – um since I disappeared. We need to talk about how I am going to get into the Club. All of those steps and me on these blasted crutches.” 

Allie and Jean got a cup of tea and walked to the lounge to talk. “Allie, so much to tell you, ask you. I hope you, as well as Kate and Ella can help me with planning Lucien’s return to Ballarat. We will be home next Tuesday, about lunch time, if Lucien continues to progress as well as he is now.” “Richard told us this morning that you two are so excited. So are all of us. We will all help and are honored to be asked. We need to plan meals for the first couple of days to be certain you do not have to think about them. We’ll all talk about Christmas eve, Christmas day meal – need to plan around the ceremony in the back yard for renewing your vows that you two are planning. And, I remember where we put the decorations from last year. Cliff is getting the trees lined up and will help put them up after you get home. I imagine that you and Lucien will want to decorate them. I remember when he was home how much he loved to decorate them, and kept adding more decorations and then more trees,” Allie told Jean, laughing at the memory. 

“Yes, Allie, at this time of year, a little boy appears. He even asked me if Santa was coming for him, Jenny and Blake. After missing two Christmas seasons, I think he wants to celebrate all them at the same time. Cliff needs to line up three trees, at a minimum. And put in an order for a leg of lamb for the 23 rd so I can make his favorite dinner. How is the work on our shower?” Jean asked. “Jean, they are moving right along. No busted fingers, not too much arguing so far, and I know they want it done by Wednesday at the latest. So clean up before you leave hospital on Tuesday morning, just in case they miss their deadline,” Allie said with a giggle. 

Danny and Aaron were chatting about the number of people besides Gus that he had accompanied to Melbourne. While Danny was telling him about Cec, how long he had known Lucien, how beautiful the Colonists’ Club was, Peter walked into the evidence room to study the timeline. He then looked at the evidence they had accumulated, and discovered the key found in Lucien’s bank box. Someone had tagged it as ‘Key in Blake’s bank box, what does it fit? where in Melbourne?’ As he studied it, he pulled out his set of keys from his pocket, and found that he had one that was very similar, just a different number on it. His had the number 22, and the tagged key had the number 34. The keys look so much alike, each has a ‘SB’ stamped on them. So what were the keys for? Peter had stored some of his gear in Bendigo, in a locker, until he found a flat in Ballarat to rent. Could this be at the same place? Not in Melbourne at all? 

Peter dashed down the hall to see if Danny was still in Aaron’s room. “Slow down Constable. This is a hospital – not a racetrack,” Carol told him, in a peevish tone. “Yes, ma’am, I am so sorry. But I think I have figured out the key, I do!” “Danny, Danny look at this will you? Look!” Peter nearly shouted. Danny answered Peter saying he was still in Aaron’s room. “Look, look at this key. He tried to slow down his explanation about the two keys, but raced through his discovery. Do you think they may be to the same storage place?” Danny and Aaron compared the two keys. “Peter, what is your key for?” Danny asked. “The storage place in Bendigo. Just moved to Ballarat and still have some stuff there. Had my locker space rented for another six months or so. This is important isn’t it?” Peter said, his excitement hard to contain.

“Yes, Peter, these keys look very much alike. Let’s call Matthew and Bill on the secure line and tell them,” Danny said, as he was walking out of Aaron’s room.” Carol placed the call to the police station and Bill answered. “Bill, Danny. Is Matthew there? We need to talk.” “Lawson here. Danny what is going on?” Peter entered the conversation, talking too quickly. Matthew stopped him and had him tell them again what he had figured out. “When are you coming back, Peter?” “Boss, I am accompanying Cec, Allie, and Hugh on the return to Ballarat. We will be at the depot by about 2 PM.” “Bill and I will meet you and go up to Bendigo then. Excellent work Peter, yes. Tell Blake what you discovered as well.” “Yes, Sir, Boss, I will.”

Danny walked Peter into Lucien’s room. “Doc, Peter has something to tell you. He has a theory about the key that was in your bank box. Peter, are you ready? Talk slowly, alright?” “Yes, um I will try. Dr. Blake, I noticed I have a key that looks a lot like the one in your bank box.” He gave both of them to Lucien, who compared them, lined up the notches on them, noticed they had the SB on them and two different numbers. “Mine is for my storage locker in Bendigo. I think this other one may be for the same place, just a different lock. I have proposed this to um Matthew Lawson.” “Peter, an excellent observation. Thank you.” Lucien told him, noticing how ill at ease he was talking to him, but smiling all the while. “Sir, I am just happy to help in the investigation. Thank you,” Peter said, reaching out to shake Blake’s hand. 

Hugh, Cec, Allie and Peter left Lucien’s room about 11 AM so they could return to the depot and catch the train to Ballarat. Jean, Lucien and Aaron were sitting in the room, reflecting on the swirl of activity that morning. Now, they could catch their collective breath. Carol entered the room with lunch choices and asked if anyone else was incoming for lunch today? Jean answered, “Danny and Charlie have other obligations for the early afternoon, don’t know if any of the POW team will be here or not. Paul and Gus will be coming in later for therapy for Aaron and Lucien, maybe dinner for them?” So, it was the four of them for lunch, talking about the weekend, the upcoming trip back to Ballarat next week, Christmas. Aaron looked at Jean and Lucien and said, “I want to thank you again for ‘adopting’ me for the holidays. And I am feeling better. Haven’t needed the sunnies or the earplugs for the last 24 hours. Do either of you know when Rose is coming down so we can work on the small notebooks?” “I have not heard, so next time someone calls from Ballarat, let’s ask. I would like to get started on them,” Lucien told them. 

They had no sooner mentioned Rose’s name than the telephone rang. Rose and Bill wanted to report on their trip to Bendigo to the Op Shop. “Morning, this is the Bill and Rose report. Lucien, the receipt from September 24, 1964 was probably for two sets of clothing for you. The owner remembers the trio of men buying clothing that was too big for them. She wondered about what they were doing. Even asked them if this was the size they wanted. In thinking back on this, she is pretty sure that the clothes would have fit you. She recognized the mystery man photo – because he got really nasty with her. So the clothing was waiting for you in the cabin – when they made you take off your suit and leave it behind. She did not put any significance to this episode because she thought your disappearance was separate from the three of them,” Bill told them. “Good work you two. And Rose, when are you coming down to work on the small notebooks?” Lucien asked. “I am planning on Friday morning, coming with Joseph and stay the entire weekend. I will need a room,” Rose told the group. “Rose, Carol here. I will have a room for you. Promise me you will not stay up too late, alright?” “Yes, ma’am, I will not pull an all-nighter. I promise.”

After lunch, Jean was glad to hear Lucien suggest on his own that he needed a nap and would be fine by himself. Jean and Carol got him settled, his knee elevated, packed in cold compresses. Jean kissed him and said, “Going to a room with a table and spread out my grant materials. Want to get caught up on the bookwork, final edits of the third paper. For some reason, you are making my work difficult to complete now. Last two years, not an interruption at all until Saturday December 5th.” She lifted an eyebrow at Lucien and he just chuckled. “That’s my girl. Giving me sass, and more sass, but that will not stop me from loving you with all of my heart, dearest Jeannie. I am ready for you to leave now and please turn off the light,” Lucien told her, taking her hand to kiss. “Have a good nap, my handsome boy.”

Jean made considerable progress on her grant work over a two hour time period and was ready to stand up, work the stiffness out of her leg, walk the hall, get some tea. She was making a pot of tea when Gus entered the room. “Well, Jean, I heard that I have another patient on this floor. Is that right?” “Yes, Gus, um I wanted to use the therapy room last night, and Diane said I needed orders to do that, and of course Lucien could not sign off on it. You were not on the floor. Didn’t want to call you for something so simple – sitting in a warm water therapy tank. Don’t give her any grief, please, my neck and leg do feel much better. I did my exercises several times, and Lucien joined me, worked with me as well.” 

“What about orders to use the therapy room every day until you leave for Ballarat? Does that make sense to you?” Gus asked her, grinning at her. “Yes, that would be perfect.” “Done. I see you have a script for pain medication. Do you need more before you return home?” “Yes, that would be a good idea. Thank you Gus.” “Well Jean, my charge will be substantial. Let me see – How about one week at the Blake house with food included, unlimited time at Jean’s Place, access to Lucien’s liquor cabinet and Master Blake’s erector set to entertain me. Think you can do that for me?” “A done deal, Gus. But not just next week, anytime.” 

Carol walked Aaron and Lucien to the therapy room about the time that Paul and Gus walked onto the floor. “Lucien, Charlie and I took your money to the jewelry store this afternoon. She will bring the new rings on Thursday afternoon. Everything else will be completed by Monday afternoon and she will deliver those items then. Sounds like you are being Santa Claus this year. Is that right?” Paul told him. “Paul, yes, I think that may be right. So, are you going to push Aaron and me to new levels of pain this afternoon or are you going to be nice to us?” Lucien asked. “Let’s find out,” Gus said, as both he and Paul got in the water. “Gus, you have time to get into the water today with us? You really did not have to!” Lucien told his friend. 

Paul started working with Aaron’s neck and shoulders while Gus began with Lucien’s leg and knee. Both of them groaned at times, but did the exercises, and then repeated them. Took a break and worked on new sets. “You are wearing me out, Gus.” “Yes, I have thrown the book at you today, Lucien, and you are only mildly barking at me. I need to look carefully at your knee when we get out and I will probably change your brace. I want you to begin to put some partial weight on your leg.” “Gus, you are kidding! Really? I expected to be in this brace for weeks.” “I will make a decision today so you can be adjusted to a new one before you leave hospital. Does that sound like a Christmas present to you?” “Yes, indeed.”

“How is Aaron faring, Paul?” “Gus, he is doing better, still some stiffness here.” As Paul touched an area near the base of his skull, Aaron moaned his displeasure. “Let me see, feel that area.” “Gus, please, no heavy hands, I actually felt good today, headache is lessening,” Aaron pleaded with him. Then Lucien got involved in Aaron’s care. “I am at a total disadvantage here. All three of you, trying to take my head off,” Aaron said, trying to add some levity to the conversation, while not shedding any tears. Lucien spoke to Paul in Cantonese, and then Paul worked on a different pressure point, almost immediately Aaron relaxed, and Gus grinned at him. “Paul found your problem, didn’t he? Better now?” ‘Yes, so much better, thank you. All of you. And I must thank Jean for making me work with Paul in the first place.”

Dinner that evening was with Gus, Aaron, Jean, Lucien, and Diane. Diane continued to bring two plates for Lucien, and single trays for the others. Gus looked at the amount of food Lucien was eating,” Blake, you are still eating so much. How much weight have you gained?” “Carol is weighing me each morning, and so far about three pounds. But Gus, look at this second plate, only meat and veg. My clothes still are really loose. I still remember my first look at myself in the mirror, with Jean, shortly after I was admitted. I looked so gaunt, drawn, tired. Now, I think I look more like I used to. Don’t you?” “Lucien, I think you do as well. Jean what is your opinion?” Gus asked. “Still not as much weight as when he disappeared. Then I was cutting him back on the desserts, especially the chocolate cake that he likes,” Jean told them, smiling. “Yes, Jean, I remember that.” 

They were not even finished eating when the secure line from Ballarat rang. Matthew was on the line, “Blake, incredible news on the key. Are you ready to listen to us?” “Of course, Aaron is here and he will scribe for us. What did you determine?” 

Matthew started talking, “Once Peter was back in town this afternoon, we – ah Bill, Peter and I – drove straight away to Bendigo to the storage locker. Bill had several photographs of the Mystery Man, the passport of Boris Green, and a list of all of the aliases with him. Peter walked into the office of the storage lockers, explained who we were and told the owner what we wanted. I had the owner look at the key and he told us that the key was definitely to locker 34. I told him that I must see the record for that locker, the name of the person who rented it, see the contents of it. As he let us look at his records, Bill had him look at the photograph. Blake, it was the Mystery Man who rented it. Can you believe that? In Bendigo. Not in Melbourne at all!” Matthew said, in an excited tone. 

“What name did he use to rent the storage locker?” Lucien asked. “The name on the locker was for one Victor Gennardy. The three of us gasped, almost in unison. Just about like I heard over this telephone line, right now from all of you.” Bill entered the conversation, “Doc, isn’t that man that you killed in Macau several years ago. The one who shot you in the chest?” Lucien simply said, “Yes indeed, Bill that was his name. And you and Matthew found my agency file, in the police station, with his name didn’t you?” “Yes we did. Frank had hidden it so no one would find it.” 

“Dr. Blake, this is Peter. Let me continue our investigation. After identifying the photograph of the mystery man as the person who had rented the unit, the owner walked us to the locker. Chief Superintendent Lawson told him that he had a search warrant for this locker. The owner did not even look at it. Just said, you know what, it was fine. That fellow, the one in the picture, is a strange bird, scared me, made me nervous. Glad he only showed up once a year. The key fit into the lock like it was made for it, and we were looking at the contents very quickly.” 

Matthew entered the conversation once again. “Blake, the locker included two more passports, several folders of material and notes about you, and memorabilia of one Victor Gennardy, including family pictures, even his death notice. Two pistols, several documents with aliases that matched what the mystery man was using, and a couple additional ones we had not heard of. Bill and Peter boxed everything up and put it in the boot of the police cruiser.” 

“Doc, I asked the owner when this locker was first rented. You won’t believe this – September 15, 1962. And the bloke came back – in person – each September to pay a year in advance. Last time he paid was just a few months ago, yes, it was September 14 of this year.” “So that would put him back in Cambodia in early October when he discovered that Hannam and I were stepping down the drug cocktail. And his response was to try and kill me, with a hit to the neck,” Lucien said, feeling his neck, looking at Aaron.

“Blake, we are just getting started with material we found. Wanted to let you know the incredible news. We will work on this tonight and tomorrow. Will keep you updated,” Matthew said. “Peter, thank you for making such a solid connection, and for you Matthew and Bill for following through with his idea. We could have spun our wheels here in Melbourne for weeks, finding out nothing in the process. We will let Danny and Charlie know about your discovery.” “And I will add the dates to the timeline. Thank you all for your help,” Jean told the Ballarat group. Jean walked up to Lucien, hugged him, kissed him, “Another piece of your puzzle, right, my love?” “Yes, indeed,” Lucien said as he took her hands, gently kissed both of them.


	35. Jean's Meltdown

Chapter 35 Jean’s Meltdown

After the conversation with Matthew, Peter and Bill about Locker 34, Lucien and Jean looked at each other. Jean took a big breath, began speaking very quickly, “Lucien, I have so many questions. Why did that man have files on you? Did he try to find you and Hannam while you were both in Melbourne? How did you get his passport, his gun, the key to his locker in Bendigo? How did you get away from him? Did he know where you and Hannam were staying? He nearly caught up you in the A&E – thank goodness Richard and James were alert to your situation. He would have finished you off if he could, I really believe that.” Jean looked at him, grimacing, chewing on her lower lip, shivering, tears in her eyes. “Lucien, Lucien – what on earth have gotten yourself into?“ 

“Jeannie, come here. Look, I am here, we are safe, our friends are here to help us,” Lucien pleaded with her to look at him. Jean sat in her chair, still shivering, thinking, about what – she had no earthly idea. She was more rattled now that the entire time she had been in Melbourne. Diane walked up behind her and placed a blanket around her shoulders and held her tightly. “Jean, we are here. Can you talk with Gus or me? Should I call Richard or Alice for you?” 

“Um, I don’t know what I need or want right now. I think everything has just descended on me, like a fog, a cloud. We are so lucky that Lucien is back with us, with me. But, I, um –“ Jean stood up and bolted from the room. Gus quickly walked after her. “Call Richard now, Diane. I will find her, stay with her,” he said as he left the room, checking which direction she was headed. 

Gus caught up with Jean in the lounge, standing by a window staring outside, with the blanket still around her shoulders, still shivering. “Jean, it is Gus. Let’s sit down. Will you talk with me? Help me understand what you are thinking, so I can try to help you,” Gus told her as he slowly walked her to a couch, helped her sit down. “Gus, um, I just realized, how close I came to losing Lucien, from the very beginning, that man, Boris Green or whatever his name is, wanted my Lucien, my love, dead. He could have killed him the first night, like he did the man named Linemann. I don’t know how Lucien avoided death for so many months. Gus, how did he do it? Will we ever be free of him? I just got so scared,” Jean told him as she continued to chew on her lower lip, her body still trembling.

As Gus was sitting next to Jean, his arm over her shoulders, talking with her, Richard entered Lucien’s room and said, “Diane, what is going on? Can you bring me up to speed?” Diane had not even started her answer when James walked in. “Richard called me after he was paged. Update me. Where is Jean?” They both looked at Lucien who was still in bed, Aaron was sitting next to him, holding his hand. Lucien looked like a truck had hit him, a dazed look in his eyes, staring at the floor. Then he started talking, “We heard about the locker in Bendigo tonight. The key I had in my bank box, the one I stole from the Mystery Man, fits locker number 34. He had rented it just before I was abducted. Rental paid every year since then. Inside the locker among other items were files about me, files about Victor Gennardy, the man I killed in Macau, and another gun. I think Jean just heard too much about how that man was plotting to kill me, probably would have done it the first night if Hannam was not present. Wanted to finish me off here in hospital. She is so frightened.” 

Aaron spoke up, “The last time he was in Bendigo, he paid the rent – um that was in September. When he returned to Cambodia in early October, Blake suggested that was when the Mystery Man tried to kill him, with the whack to the neck and skull. When Jean heard that, she started shaking, chewing on her lip, and bolted down the hallway. Gus told Diane to call Richard, and then chased after her.”

“Alright, here is what we are going to do. James and Aaron, you have the Major. Do not let him crawl into a dark hole. Keep him talking to you. I will find Gus and Jean. Diane, would you come with me?” Richard distributed the work, peppering orders as if he were still in the military. Diane and Richard were into the hallway, looking up and down the corridor trying to figure out which rooms to check first. They were aided by hearing Gus’ voice, sounded like the lounge was a good starting place for the two of them.

When they entered the room, Gus quietly told them, “Richard and Diane, please join us. Jean had what I think is a panic attack, realizing that her man, your Major, was close to being killed by that lunatic – probably from the very first night he was with Lucien. We were talking about Lucien and Hannam’s strategies to keep each other alive and safe as long as they could. We have also discussed the fact that the mystery man probably caught up with them here in Melbourne, but did not discover where they were living rough. Somewhere along the way Lucien stole the key to locker 34, his passport, and the gun. I am guessing this happened between November 20th and November 30th. Lucien needed time to put everything in the bank box and then give Paul the key. Undoubtedly that is why the mystery man was in A&E the morning that Lucien was admitted – wanted his stuff back and to finish Lucien off. Jean, does that about cover it?” Gus said, looking at her, as he continued to hold a shivering Jean, trying to comfort her. “Yes, I think so, Gus. Thank you for helping me,” Jean answered him, still a bit teary eyed. “Still so cold Gus.” Richard saw a blanket and put it over Jean’s legs. “Better?” “Yes. Thank you. Well, I must look a fright, scared all of us, didn’t I?” 

“And Jean, why do you think this happened tonight?” Richard asked her gently, quietly, as he sat across from her, trying to get Jean to look at him. She kept staring at the floor, avoiding eye contact with all of them. “In the locker, so much information about Lucien, finally hit home how much danger he has been in, so many months, such pressure, to stay alive, to come back to us. That possibility of him being killed, that I would never see him again, moved from the abstract to the actual. I am so very fortunate to have him back in as good of shape as he is,” Jean said, beginning to sob once again. Gus pulled her closer to him, Richard handed her his handkerchief. “A two handkerchief cry tonight. Sorry, my good friends,” Jean said, tried to smile at them, without much success. 

Richard suggested they sit and talk some more, continue letting Jean have time to wind down. Diane asked, “Jean, how about a pot of tea. Would you like that?” “Yes, tea for all of us. Thank you,” Richard said. By the time they had finished their tea, Jean was calm, tears had stopped, and she was worried once again about Lucien. “Who is with Lucien? Where is he?” “Jean, Aaron and James are talking with him, taking care of him,” Diane told her, trying to alleviate her fears.

“Should we walk back to see the Major? Tell him what happened? He is quite disturbed about his love bolting down the hallway, and he could do very little to stop you. Gus, Diane and I will walk you back. Does that sound alright?” Richard asked, smiling at her, as he took one of the blankets off her shoulders. “Um, yes, I must tell him what was going on, that Gus helped figure it out, Richard talked me down. Yes, let’s go,” Jean told them, as she walked smartly from the room, regaining some of her confidence. 

Aaron and James had Lucien out of bed, walking the hallway, keeping him occupied, making him talk with them, waiting for Jean to return. They stayed away from the lounge, not wanting to interfere with what Gus, Richard and Diane were trying to accomplish with Jean. When Lucien saw Jean approach the room, he said, loudly, “We are down here, walking. Jeannie, are you feeling better now? I am so, so sorry that my disappearance is so raw, so difficult for you to um –“ Lucien stopped walking, sputtered to the end of his thoughts, waited for her to approach him. “Bloody Hell, I can’t even hug you, being on these crutches. Let’s get back to the room, together, let me hold you.” 

Lucien sat on the edge of his hospital bed, put Jean between his legs, held her tightly, putting her head on his shoulder, talking quietly to her. Kissing her neck, her face, her mouth. They stayed in that embrace for several minutes, talking softly, no one could hear what they were saying. Both of them were crying at times, wiping each other’s tears. “Alright, Jean?” “Yes, for now,” Jean told him as she kissed him, gave him another hug, whispered something in his ear. “Thank you for helping my love this evening,” Lucien told the group. 

“Major, you know how we all feel about the two of you. We are Blake family, we make each other stronger. We know there will be a time when each of us will need help and we can depend on the two of you. It is that simple,” Richard told him, putting his hands on each of their shoulders. Gus walked up and looked at Lucien and Jean, grinned at them, “Remember, there will be bumps along the way, so much to try and understand about your disappearance. We are here to help, even out the journey for both of you.” 

“Jeannie, if I remember correctly, I used to be your ‘occasional’ physician and tonight I will assume that role once again. I prescribe 30 minutes in the therapy tank, with you, so I can work on your neck and shoulders, hug and kiss you whenever I want to. Let’s go my love.” “No arguing from me. Please don’t get too upset with how my neck and shoulders are tonight. They are not good,” Jean told him, hoping he would be gentle with her. Well, she knew he would try to be, just depended on how tight her muscles were strung. 

The time they spent in the warm water worked wonders for Jean. She was finally relaxing. As Lucien massaged her neck, he found several hot spots, eliciting an occasional yelp, some tears at first, but as he continued to get her muscles to release, she became almost putty in his hands. Lucien talked with her about the episode earlier that evening, needing to understand how much involvement – in determining what happened to him, unpacking the evidence – she wanted. Jean convinced him that she needed to be in the middle of it, did not want to be pushed to the sidelines. Jean promised him she would talk to James or Richard if these decisions were not the right ones, needed to be modified. 

“Jean, your neck is responding nicely, pain should be lessening, right?” “Yes, yes, you are right, my handsome Dr. Blake. Thank you,” Jean told him, smiling, placing her head on his shoulder, becoming very quiet, breathing evenly. 

After several minutes, Lucien began to realize Jean was asleep. I recall the first time the two of us battled to a draw about her neck, how she let me work with her neck and shoulders, fell asleep on the examination table. But at that time, I had given her medication to help with the intense pain she was experiencing. Tonight, nothing – just warm water, Jean and me. Diane walked into the therapy room, saw the two of them, Lucien kissing Jean’s face, both of them very quiet. She walked up to him, and softly asked, “Lucien, what can I do to help you?” “Jeannie fell asleep on me. We will both have prune-skin if I don’t wake her up, and fairly soon,” he smiled as he told Diane about his predicament. “I will make some noise in the hallway and maybe that will start her waking up. Sound alright?” “Yes, please do.” 

“Um, well Lucien, what was that noise? My neck feels so much better. Have we been in the water for 30 minutes yet?” Jean asked, as she kissed his neck, smiled at him. “We should get out, take a quick shower, go to bed. Does that sound alright to you, love?” Lucien asked, grinning at her, kissing her face, pushing her hair back.

“Lucien, if I don’t get out of here and into bed quickly, you will have to carry me. I am so, so tired,” Jean told him, yawning a couple of times. “Jean, I cannot carry you so we need to get a move on it.” After a quick shower, they were barely in bed before Jean had tucked her head in to Lucien’s side, and was asleep. Well, this makes me think of our early days – Jean falling asleep, in my bed, on the couch, in the Melbourne hotel room. How much I loved you, Jean Beazley, was hard to put into words. I was just giddy with love, never expected that to happen, with Mrs. Beazley, my father’s housekeeper and me, the prodigal son. And I am still so much in love with her. Making her happy is all I can think about. She had paid such a heavy toll while I have been away. Need to take care of her. Thought we would talk some more about everything that happened tonight – but that will have to wait till morning. Lucien kissed her face, smiled at his love, and said ‘Good Night Jean.’ Jean cuddled even closer to him, kissed his chest.

Thursday morning found James joining Lucien and Jean for breakfast. Aaron was sleeping late, or that is at least what Carol told them. James had spent the night in the lounge sleeping, telling Jean he had a couple of patients he need to keep a close eye on during the evening, not letting on it that it was Lucien and her. After they had gone to bed, he called Alice and talked with her for quite a while, alerting her to Jean’s episode, gathering ideas from her. She suggested that Jean would not want to be coddled, would want to address this head on. Sounded like Richard and Gus’ approach as well, and he agreed with it. James was not needed during the night, and now he was enjoying being in hospital without dealing with the traffic, eating breakfast with two of his dearest friends. Jean seemed calm this morning, not showing any outward signs of the mental state she displayed the evening before. Richard had elected not to medicate her, and James thought that was the correct choice. She was alert, calm, and talkative, both she and Lucien affectionate with each other, smiling, kissing each other’s hands. Would be hard to realize what happened last night if he had not been there to witness part of it.

“James, thank you for your help last evening. I just went on overload, hearing all of the plans that man, that man, had – who wanted to kill Lucien. And I imagine that is not even the half what he wanted to accomplish,” Jean told him. “You have always been someone to rely on, to talk with, from the very first day we met, when Lucien’s back was such a mess,” Jean told him, as she stood up and walked to him and hugged James. “Thank you.” Jean buried her head in his shoulder, and he held her. “I’m good, I’m fine,” Jean said, with a smile, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I am.” 

The threesome had just finished breakfast when Richard walked into the room. “Good morning folks. I need to steal Jean for half an hour or so. We will be in the lounge, talking, drinking tea. Ready?” “Yes, Richard. I will talk with you, no arguing, I am better this morning,” Jean told him. “I think you are as well, you look much better, must have been the treatment of your ‘occasional’ physician,” Richard said, looking at Lucien. “Yes indeed.”

James told his Major, “Let me get started on a physical exam for you. Carol, we will need a skull x-ray, urine and blood draws for drug and testosterone levels when I am finished. Ears are clear for the first time, Major. Finally found the treatment for it and I have I written it down in my formulary. I see you are gaining some weight. You don’t look so worn out, not as gaunt, haggard. I know Carol and Diane are watching what you eat as well as how much.” “Yes, James, that second plate of food is just meat and veg, no potatoes, rice, desserts – which I really would like more of,” Lucien told him, with a grin. “And you are not getting a double helping of any of those, my love,” Jean confirmed, with a raised eyebrow. 

After checking Lucien’s blood pressure, James told him, “Major, once again, your blood pressure is staying lower than what I would like. I know we have been stepping that medication back, and I will continue to do so once again. Remember to get up slowly, don’t want you do to a header, alright?” “Yes, James, I know the drill. I will be careful. Are you going to do one more EKG?” Lucien asked. “Yes, it is scheduled on Saturday for both you and Jean. I certainly don’t expect to find anything untoward on either one of you,” James stated. 

“Any questions, concerns I need to address?” “Yes, one concern – Jean. Last night was so strange for her, but on thinking about it, I have been gone over two years, and I think she constructed a scenario that I was safe once I was back, we were together again, and now she is not so certain. Must keep that second man, mystery man locked up, away from us.” “Yes, agreed, Major.”

“Major, one last thing. Hugh wants to remind you and Jean about Friday evening dinner in your room, Italian, Chef’s Choice. We will get the food, wine, flowers, etc. and get the room set up for you two,” James told him, with a grin. “Sounds fine to me. And I did remember it. Was an excellent meal last week. First time we were together in over two years. I will remind Jeannie,” Lucien told his good friend, a smile developing on his face. 

As James was leaving, Jean and Richard walked into the room. “Richard, I am going next door to check on Aaron and will update both sets of patient notes before I leave. Jean, Lucien is doing well this morning. And you?” James asked her. “I am fine,” Jean told him very quickly. The three physicians looked at her, smirks on their faces, and Lucien said the obvious, “That is not an answer, no way, my love. Really, how are you?” “Well, um somewhat tentative, uncertain. My basic strategy while you were away has gotten rattled, challenged, with the revelations of last evening. But I am less anxious now,” Jean told them. “And Major, you will write in your journal, sketch if you feel like it. Yes?” Richard asked. “Of course, I will write. Will do it this morning, for you, for me, for my love,” Lucien answered, smiling at Jean.

Gus strolled into the room, with a smile on his face, looked at Jean and Lucien, “So, how did last night go with the two of you? Anything new to report?” “Gus, we did well last night, talked a little bit, slept, James and Richard have visited with each of us, we are going to make it, I really believe that,” Lucien answered for the two of them. “Well Jean, his answer puts you in a bit of a bind doesn’t it?” “Gus, I am much calmer this morning, thinking more clearly.” “Good, good, Jean.” 

Richard took his leave, and Gus placed a new brace on Lucien’s bed. “Are you ready for this next version Lucien? I have a couple more adjustments to do, but need your leg in it. So let me help you sit on the edge of the bed, dangle your legs toward the floor, and put it on you.” Gus showed Jean and Lucien how to wrap his leg with the compression bandage first, how to put the brace on. Before Gus handed him the crutches, Jean put his shoes and socks on. 

Once Lucien was on his feet, Gus began to do the minor adjustments, and instructed him on how to walk, with some weight bearing on the leg for first time in days. Gus walked with Lucien to the hallway. The two of them walked slowly up and down the hallway. “Well, what is the verdict?” “Gus, this is good, really good. Not much weight bearing yet, but a start,” Lucien told him. “We need to keep an eye on the swelling in the knee, muscle weakness. It has been over two weeks since you walked normally. We still do exercises in the tank every afternoon until you and Jean leave for Ballarat.”

“Lucien, while we walk, I have some questions to ask you. When did you take the key from the mystery man? Do you remember?” “Been thinking about that since last evening, with nothing surfacing yet, Gus. You know I think the man I killed in Macau was his brother. I had a hard time remembering that until last week, when you helped me with my shoulder.” 

“Do you think Jean is more stable this morning? Did you two talk more last night about her episode?” Gus asked his good friend. “Gus, she does want to be involved in the investigation, no matter where it leads. She thinks she would be more anxious if she were on the sidelines.” “Blake, just what were you involved in, in Macau, before you came back to Ballarat? Can you tell me?” “Gus, if I tell you any more than I already have, I will need to kill you, it is that simple. So no, I am telling you nothing else.” “Really, Blake? So you were, maybe still are, involved in intelligence, undercover stuff, right?” “Em, Gus, told you all you need to know. Please leave it be, for me, for Jean and most of all, for yourself,” Lucien pleaded with him. 

As they walked back towards Lucien’s room, Gus told him, “I must leave for my office, patients are waiting for me already, never on time it seems. You will be my excuse for being late this morning, Blake. I will be back this afternoon to work with you, Aaron and Paul in the water tank,” Gus said, with a grin, knowing this was a time for him to relax, chat with the threesome, and ask Paul to work on his wrist, which he self-diagnosed as the beginnings of arthritis. “You know Gus, Jean was always on me for being late for surgery hours, and I used an ‘investigation’ for my excuse. “See you this afternoon, Gus. Thank you, again, for your continuing help, assistance, friendship. All of you are being incredibly generous of your time with me and Jean,” Lucien told him, as he extended his hand to Gus. “You two are most welcome. See you this afternoon.” 

“Jeannie, I want to clean up, trim my beard this morning. Will you help me got out of this brace, unwrap my leg?” “Yes, I want to clean up as well. Let’s get started.” Once Lucien was seated in the shower and the water was running, he looked at Jean and smiled, teasing her with his eyebrows. “What Lucien?’ “I am glad you are with me, willing to stay with me. I did not appreciate how hard figuring out what happened to me would be on you. I just did not think about it that way. I am so glad to figure each piece of evidence out, understand what happened, didn’t think about the damage it is doing to you. I am sorry,” Lucien explained to his love. “Lucien, we need to figure this out, and I have to help, I cannot just sit back and not be involved. Last night I learned the consequences of my decision, my choice to help you. Brings home the fact that I almost lost you, in Ballarat on day one, and even here after you were in hospital. Hard to wrap my head around that, it just is,” Jean tried to explain to him and to herself. 

Once Lucien was out of the shower, Jean got in and was taking a very leisurely shower, humming to herself, when she felt his hands on her, massaging her neck, soaping her back. “Feels very good, thank you Lucien.” “You are most welcome, my love. Ready for a towel?” “Yes, I will get out, help you trim your beard.” “Good, and I will comb my hair today. Going to have to make a decision soon on what to do with my hair, aren’t I?” Lucien said, grinning at Jean. As Lucien looked at himself in the mirror, he asked Jean, “Well, do you think I am on the mend?” “You certainly look more like Lucien Blake than the first time I saw you – seeing your blood shot eyes, gaunt appearance, hollow cheeks, so tired, worn out looking. I don’t think you are back to what I remember – but you are making progress,” Jean told him, kissing his cheek, then his hands. 

Carol and Jean wrapped Lucien’s leg, put the brace back on, and he was once again walking the floor when Bill strolled down the hall to greet him. “Doc, your bad leg is touching the floor. Is that good?” “Bill I got a new brace this morning, am putting some weight on my leg, seeing how my knee feels. Gus thinks I am ready for this. I certainly hope he is right. What are you doing here?” “Came back with Hugh this morning, will eat lunch with you folks, and will hang around to accompany Joseph to Ballarat this afternoon. Alice and Rose are starting to think about your return to the house. I am supposed to ask Jean if there is anything I can take back to Ballarat with me that you two will not need in the short term. Are you getting a bit excited about leaving hospital?” “Yes we are, Bill. Um Bill, don’t bring up locker 34 while you are here. Alright?” Lucien told him. “Yes, Alice told me that Jean had difficulty last night, realizing what that man wanted and still wants to do to you. Reminded both Peter and me why we are riding the train with the POW team. We need to stay sharp, focused,” Bill answered.

“Doc, on another subject. Alice wants all of the pistols that we have here. She has an idea about the death of Linemann she wants to test. I will gather them up and take them back with me today,” Bill explained. “Alice has an excellent idea. Yes, indeed. So you think that the bullet casing you found may be the key, right? You should ask Charlie or Danny for the pistol they took off of the Mystery Man on this floor,” Lucien told him. “Doc, I will. Hope to see one of them at lunch. If not, I will call them. I will be back tomorrow with Joseph and Rose. Probably stay the weekend. Ah Yes, I need to talk with Carol about a room,” Bill said. 

In the hallway, Carol heard her name mentioned and walked into the room. “Bill, staying for lunch with us today? Sounds like you need a room for the weekend, as well as Rose. Consider it taken care of. I am calling in lunch orders. Here is the set of options. I will see what Jean and Aaron want. Joseph called in his preferences already. Don’t know about Danny or Charlie.”

Bill and Jean walked to Aaron’s room to chat with him about items he wanted Bill to take back with him to Ballarat. “Aaron, I brought back an empty suitcase and Jean only filled it half full. So you have some room to put in whatever you want.” Aaron went through his clothing, added several items. Bill didn’t tell them the reason he wanted their stuff in the suitcase – it would be padding for all of the pistols he was taking back to Alice. He would be certain to wrap each gun so there would be no transfer from them to the clothing or to each other. 

While Bill, Aaron and Jean talked, drank some tea, Lucien was writing in his journal. As he looked at the five pages he filled with his thoughts, he realized his handwriting was getting almost unreadable by the last page. Here I am, writing too quickly, just like a physician, which I used to be, but cannot be now. Will I ever be able to handle the surgery again? Will I just stay in the house, drive Jean crazy with my boredom? There is a limit to sitting around. Don’t know how Aaron has stayed sane, not being able to attend to his patients, read journals, but we both are dealing with these damn head injuries. And add in Drug withdrawal, pain killers for me. So ready to get home, but it will probably be different than I expect. I remember coming back, when my father was so ill, I thought the house would be just like it was when I left for Singapore, mad as hell at my father. But the house was so different, it had been under the influence of Mrs. Beazley for years. Yes, Jean. How my life changed when I met her, from being a bloody drunk on the first day, nasty, mean spirited, going to fire her, to loving her so intensely I could hardly breathe. Jean’s decorating style, the smell of her perfume, delightful odors from her marvelous cooking, fragrance of the flowers from her sunroom, bouquets of flowers in vases all over the house, just so unexpected. I wonder what it will be like – well just a few more days, and we will be there. 

Joseph walked into the room, disturbing his musings about the return to Ballarat. “Morning Major, good to see you. I understand a new Gus brace on the leg, walking is now encouraged, even a little bit of weight allowed.” “Yes, Joseph, I have been walking, am just finishing up my writing for the day. Getting hungry. Jean is next door. Ask them to come over. I bet Carol has the lunch trays ready for all of us.” 

After Jean, Bill and Aaron walked into Lucien’s room, Jean immediately asked Joseph about Christmas gifts for Blake and Jenny. “Jean are you going to spoil my children, once again?” Joseph grinned at her as he asked the question. “Of course we are. I am thinking about a Raggedy Ann and Andy set of dolls for Jenny and for Little Blake more pieces for the erector set that Gus bought him for his birthday. No one has told you they are buying these gifts – I hope.” “No one has mentioned them. I will tell Mattie so we keep it that way. Thank you for being so thoughtful.” 

The conversation turned to news items, the group session that Joseph was handling in Ballarat that evening, the shower remodel, and plans for Little Blake to see Gus’ shop on Saturday morning. “Major, he is so excited, to get to go with his two big mates, you and Gus, to see the shop. Who knows where this is going to lead? I think I will leave him in your good hands, stay away, let him feel like a big boy, with his two adult friends, who sometimes act like children themselves,” Joseph told him, grinning, chuckling. “Joseph, the child-like excitement is still in both Gus and Lucien, isn’t it?” Jean told him, smiling at Lucien, who was shaking his head back and forth, grinning at her. “I agree totally, Jean.” 

After Bill and Joseph left for Ballarat, Lucien laid down, Jean joined him and very quickly they were both asleep. Carol came into the room, covered them with a blanket, turned out the lights, pulled the door shut. Aaron was wandering the halls, and saw that his friends were both down for the count. 

“Carol, how about sharing a pot of tea with me? I am not tired enough to settle in for the afternoon. Am I keeping you from your work?” Aaron asked, the boredom almost oozing out of him. “Aaron, tea kettle is on. Seems like you are itching to get out of here, away from me, right? What would you like to talk about?” Carol asked him. “I think I am feeling better, need something to do, but everything that I like to do involves thinking, pondering diagnoses for my patients, you know what I am talking about, using my brain. That will make me feel just awful,“ Aaron said, with a grimace on his face. “So I will tell you something about the POW team. How about that?” Carol suggested, smiling at the young physician. “Yes, please do. That sounds fine to me.” 

As they drank their tea, Carol began, “James asked me to join the POW team in the initial days. I was doing special nursing duty for him, on this floor, enjoyed the variety of cases, Diane and I shared the hours, as we do now. Usually just a few patients at one time. Hugh had just arrived in Melbourne, and the two of them were piecing together their grant ideas. The three of us shared several large kettles of tea one evening, while I attended to my patients, and they roughed out their basic ideas. We traded ideas all night long. Several weeks later, they really got a jump start when James thought he recognized Dr. Blake talking to other physicians, one of whom was a police surgeon, here in hospital. Told me right after that – he knew that fellow, just could not put a name on him. 

Couple of days later, he walked up to me, very excited – “Major Lucien Blake. Yes, that is his name. Now how do I find him?” It took several telephone calls, before he made _the_ call to Matthew Lawson in Ballarat. James went to visit a few days later and came back just bubbling with more ideas. The person was indeed Dr. Blake, his Major in the POW camp, and Lucien, James, Hugh, Joseph and Richard were together, again. All five of them were in the same camp during the war, all survivors. Since, Diane and I were asked to handle all of the special duty nursing care for James and Hugh’s patients, we became a part of the team as well, and the Ballarat team was initially Lucien, Jean and Mattie,” Carol finished her brief history of the POW grant team, smiled at Aaron. 

“And Dr. Gage, I understand you will become a part of the team – as soon as you feel better.” “Yes, Carol, James talked with me about that this morning. I am so honored to be asked, they all have taken such good care of me, yes of course I want to be a part of it. James left me the two grant proposals and the first two papers to read. You have helped me get up to speed very quickly. And you know, I am going to part of the Blake family as well. Who could ask for a better Christmas present?” Aaron grinned, laughed, and then said, “All because I got my skull whacked by that lunatic!” 

“No, Aaron I think there is more to it than that. You probably did not realize it, but you were auditioning from the first minute you finally came to. Richard was quite impressed with you. All of us are of the same persuasion – you need to be a member of our team. I knew yesterday that this offer would be coming to you,” Carol told him, touching his arm, smiling at him. 

“And one more question, “How did Gus get involved with the group? Do you know how frightened I was of him at first? He um well, touched my neck, I teared up, was so embarrassed to do that, but my goodness, my neck hurt. And what about Alice?” Aaron shot out more questions to Carol as she just grinned at him.

“Young man, that is more than one question. Gus – he is an excellent surgeon, many of the POW patients need leg and arm braces, an amateur sleuth and shrink, cares so deeply about his patients. But yes, so intimidating at times. He is a good man and works will with the team. And Alice – well, when Lucien disappeared she was working with him in the morgue in Ballarat. Natural move over for her to be the Police Surgeon and take over his surgery. You almost need a flow chart for all of this don’t you?” Carol finished, looking at Aaron, grinning. 

“Did I give you a headache, Aaron?” “Carol, not yet. Thank you. Need some more tea. And one more thing – James talked with me this morning about when I should consider going back to work. He thinks the beginning of February would be about right. I need to call my office manager and talk with her about lining up coverage for me until then,” Aaron told her. “Already done. She will be here at 9 in the morning, to show you your appointment book and talk scheduling. I think waiting until then makes perfect sense. Head injuries take time, their own time, to heal. You don’t need a relapse,” Carol told him, taking his head in her hands, looking into his eyes. “Understand, Aaron?” “Yes, understood. Thank you Carol.” 

“And I need to check on my other two charges. New wedding bands are to be delivered later today for the two of them. So exciting. Need to wake them up,” Carol said, walking towards their room. With all of Aaron’s new information to think about, he walked towards his room to lie down, maybe take a nap before Gus and Peter arrived to work on his neck, once again.

When Carol entered the room, both Lucien and Jean were awake, talking, laughing, holding each other. That was what she wanted to see and hear from those two. “Are you ready for your new wedding bands to arrive? I know they will be here in the next 15 minutes or so. This is so exciting. I just love it when two people find each other, and want to be together, want to share their happiness with friends,” Carol told them, smiling at both Jean and Lucien. The owner of the jewelry store, Madge, came in with a fairly large box, definitely too big for the two wedding rings. She placed the box into Carol’s hands, and then pulled two small boxes out of her purse. Handing them to Lucien and Jean, she said, “I know you will love these rings and wear them for years to come.” 

Jean and Lucien opened the boxes, removed their rings. Lucien took Jean’s ring away from her, “With this ring I do wed thee, Jean Mary Beazley” as he carefully placed it on her ring finger. Jean took his ring, smiled at him, kissed the ring, “With this ring I do wed thee, Lucien Radcliffe Blake,” placing it on his ring finger. They both stared into each other’s eyes, let out a huge breath, and then kissed, passionately. Neither one of them heard Carol and Madge walk out of the room. 

Late in the afternoon, Carol gathered her two charges, got them to walk with her to the therapy room. Aaron and Lucien were in the tank, relaxing when Paul walked in, changed into his trunks and quickly joined them. “Paul, will you come early tomorrow and help Aaron, Jean, Rose and I start working on the notebooks that Hannam and I have? For the life of me, I cannot get started on deciphering them,” Lucien asked him. “Yes, what time do you want to start Lucien?” “Aaron and Paul, would 2 PM work for you both? That time is good for Jean and me.” “Lucien, I will come then. And Charlie called me earlier and asked about a receipt from October 1, 1962 for malaria preventative that you purchased. I brought our copy along with me. It is written in my father’s script – that is why I did not remember it, tell him we had it,” Paul explained.

Gus walked into the room while the trio were talking, changed clothing and got into the tank. The serious exercise work began, with Paul dealing with Aaron’s neck and shoulders and Gus with Lucien’s knee and leg. And for the first time all week, they were both able to complete the sets of repetitions. Both Lucien and Aaron only mildly complained, much to their surprise. “Gus, we are both on the mend aren’t we?” Aaron asked him. “Yes, you are. I am glad to see the amount of progress from Monday when you both were struggling. Let’s do another round. Lucien, how is the knee after walking today?” “Gus, some swelling, but I have kept it elevated, packed in cold compresses when I am lying down. Is that a problem or did you expect that to happen the first day?” Lucien asked him, knowing that he would take his knee in his large hands, and probably make him yell ‘Uncle’ before he was done. Aaron looked at Lucien, some fear in his eyes, mouthing, ‘Are you going to be alright?’ Lucien shrugged his shoulders. Gus found a couple of areas of swelling on Lucien’s knee, and told him, “Let’s wait and see about this in the morning. Keep the brace on your leg at all times. Cold compresses, knee elevated when you are in bed. I think your knee will be alright,” Gus told him, grimacing slightly when he manipulated Lucien’s knee. 

“Gus, what is going on with your wrist? You were hurting just then weren’t you?” Lucien asked, as he put his hand on Gus’ arm and pulled him towards him. Aaron and Paul descended on him and kept him from leaving the tank. “Tell us what you did? When?” Paul asked, almost sounding like he was ordering Gus to answer him. 

“What did I do? How about getting older – damn arthritis in this wrist is getting worse. And in my dominant hand for surgery. Just having a bad day with it. I will be fine,” Gus told the three of them. “Gus, you sound like Jean – I am fine – when in reality you are not,” Lucien told him, as he prevented him from getting out of the tank. Paul took his wrist, gently moved the wrist into several different positions, and Gus became very uncomfortable, fairly quickly. “Gus who diagnosed your wrist with arthritis?” Lucien asked him, not so certain that was the explanation. “Blake, I did,” Gus told them, looking pretty sheepish. “Gus, really?” Blake told him, grinning. 

Aaron looked at Gus, said with a devious grin, “He is human after all. And I take no pleasure at all in that statement, Gus. From what I can see, your wrist is somewhat swollen as well.” “Gus, when we get out of the water, I will work with it some more if you want me to. I bet Carol can line up an x-ray for you and will have the materials I need to immobilize it. You need to rest your wrist. Is that a plan or do you want to let it hurt?” Paul asked him, hoping the big surgeon would let him treat his wrist. 

“Paul, I will use your approach. I have seen how you helped Aaron and Lucien. Let’s hope you can do the same for me.” Gus told him, rubbing his wrist. Gus looked at Aaron and Lucien, tried to grin but it came out more of a grimace, “You two are enjoying my pain aren’t you? I dished it out to both of you and now it has come back full circle – to me. Hate this getting older crap.” “Agreed, Gus. We both are. Harder to bounce back, my friend,” Lucien told him, patting his shoulder.


	36. First Steps for Dr. Lucien R. Blake

Chapter 36 First Steps for Dr. Lucien R. Blake

After Aaron, Paul and Lucien convinced Gus to let them work with his wrist, they walked to the nurse’s station. Carol looked at the quartet, knowing something was on their minds. Paul and Aaron each had a hold of one of Gus’ arms, his right wrist was swollen, and he definitely looked very unhappy. Lucien, lagging somewhat behind them, walked up to her and said, in an authoritarian voice – she had only heard about it from Diane, when Lucien was in A&E working on Hannam – “Carol we need an order for an x-ray of Gus’s right wrist and none of us can officially do that. Will you call James or Hugh for permission?”

“Of course, I will page them both right now, and we will go down the hall and take the x-rays. Gus, do you need pain medication as well?” Carol asked him. She had never seen him corralled like he was now – he really looked out of sorts. “Um, no Carol, I think I have well, um taken too much already today,” Gus told her, trying to figure out why he spilled the beans so quickly – main reason, he was not feeling very good, becoming somewhat dizzy, glad that Paul and Aaron were holding onto him. “Let’s get this damn x-ray underway so I can lay down.” Aaron spotted a wheel chair and got him settled into it, and pushed him down the hallway. Paul and Aaron got his wrist in the alignments they wanted, Carol took the films. She asked one of the security personnel to take the case with the exposed film to be developed, and ordered the films with the report delivered to Hugh or James.

“Put Gus in the room next to you, Aaron. It is already made up and we will let him use it tonight. I will bring some supplies to wrap his wrist. What else do you need?” Carol asked, looking at both Lucien and Paul. “Carol, perhaps an IV, some anti-nausea. He seems to be a bit heavy on the pain medication already. Sorry, I can’t remember the name of the anti-nausea – will you help me there?” Lucien asked her, with a look on his face that was pleading for her help. “Got you covered, Dr. Blake. No worries. Let’s go.” 

Aaron helped Gus take off some of his clothing, got him into bed, covered with a sheet, as Paul, Lucien, Diane, and Carol walked in to the room. Paul took over treating his right wrist, “Gus, let me start by stabilizing your wrist. Want to wrap it such that I can access the pressure points to begin treating you, but also keep the wrist protected until we know what the x-rays tell us.” 

Lucien was on the other side of the bed, sitting on the side of the bed, realizing he had left his brace in his room. Well, at least I have the weight off of my leg. “Gus, let me look at you. Did you eat anything today? How many pain pills did you take?” Lucien asked his friend and his physician, looking into his eyes, feeling his neck pulse. “Blake, nothing to eat since this morning, lost count of the pain pills, um well after six, don’t know,” Gus told him, looking away from him, towards the end of the bed, only to find Carol, Diane and Jean staring back at him. At least they did not say anything – yet. What a bloody fool I have been. 

“So, tell us do you remember what you did, Gus? When?” Blake asked him, resting his hand on Gus’ left arm. “Lucien, I have an idea – surgical teams were practicing with some new equipment couple of nights ago, couldn’t get the equipment into position, so I forced it and then it jerked forward and then rebounded very quickly, felt my wrist take most of the kick back. Blake, it didn’t really hurt until this morning. And now, well, it still hurts despite all of the stuff I took.” Carol handed Lucien a basin to keep close to Gus, in case. “Not going to embarrass myself, Carol, not doing that. I am good,” Gus said quietly, still looking somewhat green. “If Aaron can hold it down, I can too.” 

Finally, Gus noticed that Blake did not have on his brace. “Blake, where is your knee brace? Damn it, Major, you are going to mess up all of the progress we have made this week! Don’t you know that?” Gus spit out very quickly, sounding like he wanted to shake Lucien, but unable to even move around in the bed. 

Jean left the room and returned with the brace and the compression bandage for his leg. Diane and Jean worked very quickly with Lucien, got him prepared to continue his work with Gus. “See Gus, my leg is all fixed now, see?” 

Carol had all of the materials at the bedside so Lucien could set up an IV. “Blake, what on earth are you doing?” “Gus, quit arguing with me, second guessing me. You still look pretty green, and I want to get some medication into you – for the nausea, taking far too many pain meds, not eating, getting dehydrated – your choice. What were you thinking, Gus? So hold still for me. Carol, you have the medication I need, right?” 

Very quickly, Lucien had his set up completed, the IV fluid flowing along with the anti-nausea medication. Gus settled down, finally giving in to all of the help that he knew he needed, but just did not want to admit to. “Thank you Blake. If you can handle me and my antics, you are a damn fine physician. Feel nasty, but not going to, no, not going to upchuck.” 

Jean watched Lucien in action, being a physician, for the first time since the Hannam episode. She couldn’t help but smile at him, as Aaron put his arm around Jean. “Jean, yes, another step on the road to recovery for your man. First time I have seen Blake being a physician – I was still room bound when Hannam was in A&E. Glad I am getting to know Lucien.” “But you know Aaron, he can’t recall medications, yet – most of this tonight was muscle memory. How far will that take him? If he wants to open his surgery again?” Jean asked him, smiling at Lucien. Diane overheard the conversation and walked up to Jean, “Jean Blake, you just give him time. He is healing, recovering each day, and we need to remember, he was gone over two years, can’t expect full recovery for months yet. He is quite skilled, we all recognize that. If he can go toe to toe with Gus Wilson, he is going to be fine, just fine.”

After Paul and Aaron had Gus’ arm propped up, covered in cold compresses, Paul asked him, with a grin beginning to develop, “Gus, do you know the predicament you put the three of us in – two patients with skull fractures and one Oriental medicine practitioner who has no hospital privileges – diagnosing your injury, beginning treatment? Do you have your charge notebook for the last few days? I want to see what your writing looks like.” 

Gus replied, “Look in my trouser pocket for the notebook.” Jean pulled it out, opened it and found the writing was typical until two days ago. Then she could barely read it. “Gus, your writing is terrible starting two days ago,” Jean asked him, looking into his eyes. “I let my residents do the last six surgeries, just too hard for me. Did you tell them? Ask for their help?” “Of course not, Jean.” “And what are these Gus?” Jean asked him. Her hand was filled with sample packs of pain killers that she showed Lucien and Aaron. 

Jean took Gus on, “Gus Wilson, you have to ask for help, you know the Blake family approach, we help each other, make each day better, you are not alone. I know you have heard that before, but it is that way in Ballarat and here at hospital. When Lucien first returned to Ballarat when his father was so ill, he was as pig headed as you. But we got through to him, finally.” “And Gus, Jean was as stubborn as could be when I came back as well. We both know how bloody hard it is to ask. But you could have avoided this episode if you had told us yesterday, about the wrist, your injury, you know that now, don’t you?” Lucien told him, putting his hand on his arm. 

Hugh walked into the room, hearing Jean and Lucien talking to Gus, said to the group, “All of this for a simple wrist injury? Gus, I have the x-rays and the report and your wrist is not fractured, but from the looks of the swelling you present with, I would think a severe sprain. And I understand you have over medicated yourself, pushing through the last couple of days.” 

“How do you know all of that, Hugh?” “I have my sources, Gus, and they were very willing to tell James and me your tale of woe. Yes, you got through today but now, well I think you have a couple of weeks off, minimum. If Paul thinks we can, I will cast the wrist on Monday.” “No Hugh! No cast! It is a sprain, you just told me that.” “Yes, Gus. And you have used it too much today. Look at it, my friend, you cannot do surgery, can’t even examine a patient without severe pain, can you? You are here for the night, probably will drive Diane up the wall. I get the idea already you are going to be a dreadful patient.”

Gus remained quiet, looking at the lot of them, trying to figure out how to craft a response. He quickly deflected the conversation from himself to Lucien. “Blake, elevate your knee right now, please. Let me boss one of you around at least.” Carol got a wheelchair, helped Lucien sit in it, elevated the leg rest, packed him in cold compresses. “Is this acceptable Gus?” Lucien asked, grinning, and then chuckling. “Yes, um thank you, your knee will thank you tomorrow as well.” 

“Blake, what medications do you have Gus on?” As Hugh talked with Carol and Lucien, he suggested a couple of additions, Lucien voted one of them down, Carol supported his decision. “Well, you two worked with him first, I’ll take your analysis of his condition. After all I just walked in to the room 20 minutes ago.” “Hugh, I could not think of the name of what I wanted to use, Carol helped me,” Lucien said almost apologizing to Hugh. “Major, we both know that is to be expected. You need to remember your recovery will take time.” “Hugh, I know, yes of course I know that, doesn’t make me happy about the situation though.” 

Aaron and Paul walked up to Hugh and Aaron told him, “Hugh, Blake was calling the shots tonight. He had a plan, knew what he needed to do, despite the fact Gus was haranguing him about his knee. Not many would have worked under those conditions and not lost their cool. We were both glad to cover his flank on this.” Paul added, “You are aware Hugh, that not many physicians would allow me to practice my trade on them. Blake, Aaron and now Gus are on my list of exceptions to the rule. I will return in the morning to check on him, and handle the therapy for Aaron and Blake in the afternoon.” “Thank you, Paul,” Hugh told him. Gus echoed his sentiments from the background, “Paul, yes thank you from me. I can be so bloody damn stupid sometimes,” Gus told him. Lucien looked at him, “That sounds just like me Gus. Maybe that is why we get along – some of the time.” 

A few minutes later, James entered the room, looked at Gus, and started to open his mouth. Jean looked at him, shook her head back and forth before saying, “James, Gus has been chastised at least a half a dozen times. He knows he was a very bad boy, and well, he is paying the price now.” “Yes, thank you Jean for reminding me of my transgressions. James, I am feeling dreadful, but better than at first. My trio of physicians made the right call, and I thank all of you. Can I see my x-ray films? Please?” Gus pleaded. 

Hugh walked up to him, handed them to him, and James joined him, discussing the wrist injury. “Blake, Aaron, Paul, can you get close to look at them with me as well?” Gus asked them. “So, look at this angle, here,” Lucien pointed out an area that was somewhat fuzzy on the film. “Yes, Blake, could be something there. Let’s keep the wrist immobilized this way until tomorrow, take another set of films, re-evaluate,” Paul suggested. 

“Bloody damn fool,” Gus was mumbling to himself. “Gus, leave it be. You have pounded on yourself as much as you can. Try to rest, for all of us. Don’t want any screaming from you tonight!” Blake told him, grinning. “Yes, yes, what else did you put in that IV, Blake?” Gus tried to say as he fell asleep. “Goodness, what a grumpy ol’ bear that man can be,” Diane told the group. 

Lucien grinned at Jean, shaking his head, reaching for her hand. “Jeannie, don’t let me be such a bad patient. Tell me off if I start down that path, alright?” “Agreed, my love, agreed. Are you hungry?” “My goodness, yes. Any dinner for us Diane? Carol? “Yes, let’s gather the group and eat. You all have earned it and even some extra dessert for you, Doctor Lucien Blake,” Diane said smiling at Lucien and Jean. “Yes indeed, but what a way to earn it!” Lucien told the group, beginning to smile, and then grin. 

Dinner was in Blake’s room with the crowd still unpacking Gus’ situation, now able to laugh at what happened, glad they had derailed his attempt at treating his injured wrist. Jean asked, “Do you think he really thought he could just push through this, didn’t he look at how swollen it was? I just don’t understand.” With Lucien, Hugh, and James in the room, she thought she would get a reasonable explanation. None of them could give her a decent answer. “Well, my goodness, does this mean you three would do the same thing?” Jean asked, raising an eyebrow at them. “I know I wouldn’t do that, I have to answer to you, and um well, you wouldn’t let me get away with that,” Lucien said, grinning at her. “If that were only true, Lucien Blake.”

“Aaron, where are you, mate?” Danny said walking down the hall to Lucien’s room. “In here, Danny, what do you need?” Charlie and I have an idea and we need your help with. Remember the telephone numbers in Hannam’s boots, the ones you thought you might be able to figure out. Why don’t we walk to your office suite and see if you have telephone directories of laboratories, medical supply companies that are not in Australia? We will take care of you. Doc, can we borrow him for a while?” Lucien looked at them, “You are asking me for permission? Aaron, get out of here before your ‘real’ physicians find out you are gone. Bring me back some evidence. Jean and I will be in the water tank by the time you get back.” “You do have your keys right, Aaron?” “Yes, Richard gave them to me. The mystery man had them as well as my wallet at one time.”

Once the trio were in Aaron’s office, he went to his desk, began looking for specific telephone numbers for tropical disease institutes in South Viet Nam, London, Singapore, as well as physicians connected with those institutes. He pulled out the numbers from Hannam’s boots and compared them, and after several minutes, yelled, “Charlie and Danny, bingo. A couple of hits – can you believe that?” “Let’s see. Yes, we take this back to the Boss and see if he can help us,” Charlie said, excited. One more item off of the ‘To Do’ list.

Before they left, Aaron stood looking around his office, standing next to his desk, his face in a grimace. “Mates, here is where I got whacked. Right here. I remember that now.” They could see him shutter, tremble, some tears in his eyes. “I could have died, right here, – “ Danny walked up to him, wrapped his arms around his shoulders, hugged him. “You survived Aaron. You are getting better.” Charlie joined the two, “And you are going home with Jean and Lucien for the holidays. You will not have to think about anything but relaxing, enjoying the Blake house, eating too much of Jean’s food.” 

“Charlie and Danny, did anyone search my office for that man’s possessions? Do you know?” Aaron asked them. “I know they found you here, arranged for transport to A&E, locked up the office. Your staff may have been in and out, but well, they may not have looked. Let’s look right now,” Danny suggested. Aaron took them through the suite of treatment rooms, storage rooms, closets – and saw the closet, just off of his office he was stuffed into. “Right here, correct?” Aaron asked. “Yes, Aaron, this is the closet,” Danny told him. “So small, so tight, “ They hugged him again. “Alright?” “Yes, we move forward.” 

Finally, they started on the cabinets, opening them one by one. About half way through those, Danny opened a door, “Hey mates, will you look at this?” Aaron and Charlie walked into the room and there was someone’s gear – a ruck sack, a duffel bag, two more pistols, a canteen – all imprinted with ‘B. Green’ on the outside. “Can you believe this? Right here the whole time. We have to call Matthew and talk to him. Get Alice and him to come down this weekend. Do we tell Blake tonight? Wait until the morning?” Danny asked. Aaron looked at the two of them, “You know, now I see why you two like being detectives. Got to be very observant, top of your game, investigating every little item, putting the puzzle pieces together. This discovery is beyond my expectations.” 

They continued their search of Aaron’s office, found nothing else of interest, wrapped everything up in a sheet, put Aaron in a wheelchair, the bundle on his lap, and moved quickly back to the POW Suite. As they entered, Richard was standing at Diane’s desk, looked up at the threesome, “What pray tell do you have there?” “The Mystery Man’s gear,” Aaron told him, grinning. “What did you say?” “The Mystery Man’s gear, from my office, Richard.” “You need to call Matthew and Alice right away.” “Yes, we are going to do that from the secure telephone line right now,” Charlie told him, grinning broadly. “That is just incredible. And Aaron you were involved in this as well?” “Yes, Richard, I was. And I feel alright, I do. Head hurts but no worse than it usually does this time of night.”

While Danny, Charlie and Aaron were on their visit to Aaron’s office, Jean and Lucien changed into their swim wear, walked to the therapy room and got into the warm water. Both of them smiled, hung on to the side of the tank and stretched out, relaxed. Lucien pulled Jean close to him and began working on her neck and shoulders, then her leg, and then descended on her with kisses. “Lucien, you know this evening, you were so good with Gus. He can be so full of himself, but tonight, well, he had to deal with his faulty decision making.” “But Jean, I could not remember the drug names to save my soul. Carol rescued me, “ Lucien told her, beginning to get upset with himself. “Lucien, you must not go down that path. I will only question your ability as a physician if you still do not remember the drug names in 22 months. That is the same amount of time you were gone. Alright?” Jean told him, kissing him on the neck, face, lips and then hugging him. 

“Do you want to do your knee exercises? Let’s be certain you did not hurt your knee this evening.” “Jeannie, I think I need to pack it and elevate it tonight. You won’t mind it the bed gets really cold would you?” Lucien asked her, with a silly grin on his face. “Of course not, I just want you better, and for that to happen, I need to sleep with you. Whatever we can do to speed your recovery up, I am all for it.” “So, you think we need to love each other this evening, is that what you think?” “Yes, I most certainly do. So, um let’s get on our way,” Jean told him, kissing his neck, his hands, “Yes.”

Once they had their night clothes on, they stopped to tell Diane where they were going. “Wait. Three items, Lucien. Hugh and I will monitor Gus this evening, so no worries with him. Second, I need to check your blood pressure before giving you your evening medication. And I want to pack your knee, elevate it, put the night time brace on you.” Jean looked at Diane and asked, “Could you put a ‘Couple Time’ sign on the door for us, please?” “Most definitely. Consider it done, Jean.” 

Lucien asked Diane, “My blood pressure?” “Still low enough to eliminate the medication tonight, and I will talk with James or Hugh tonight about next steps. Let me get a urine sample tonight and have the results for all of you in the morning,” Diane told him. “Yes, that sounds like a plan. Drugs must be on the downward course. If they are bottoming out, maybe memories start coming back,” Lucien told them, grinning. “What if you remember we are not married Lucien? What would you do then?” Jean asked him, with a silly grin, raised eyebrow. “I um well I would still bed you tonight, that won’t stop me, my love!” Diane looked at the two of them, laughed, and said, “You two – the things that are said in front of one’s nurse. I should write a book one day. Let’s get your knee ready for bed, Lucien.”

As Diane left Jean and Lucien cuddling in bed, she put the sign on the door. Richard walked up to her, looked at the ‘Couples Sign’ and chuckled. “If I remember correctly, I started that.” “Yes you did, my friend. I will still keep an eye on the two of them during the night. Got where I can be very, very quiet with those two,” Diane said, smiling at Richard.

Jean and Lucien were in bed, cuddling, holding each other, talking about their new rings, the decision to renew their vows, being together again, loving each other so much, when Lucien reached for Jean so she could hold him, not him per se but Radcliffe. “Jeannie, here, look who is awake already, I um have no explanation. He is so ready for you. Will you let us inside?” “Lucien, my good gracious, this is unexpected, we have only been lying here for 30 minutes or so. I have been playing with him, but he just well, my goodness.“ “Yes, Jean, he wants you, I need you. Where is Joseph’s box?” Jean opened a condom, kissed Ratcliffe and placed him carefully inside. Lucien stayed on his back, placed Jeannie on top of him, helped her avoid his bulky knee brace, lined up his pulsating prick, and began to enter her, slowly at first. She was so ready for him and began to move with him, very quickly they were in rhythm with each other. Jean had her arms around his neck, he was holding her tightly and they connected first with her, as she climaxed, let out a yell, tried to bury her head into him so she did not make any more noise. “Lucien, this is just marvelous.”

Lucien could feel Jean had him deep inside her, hanging on to him with such intensity he thought he was going to explode, which followed very quickly. With a loud roar, Lucien yelled, “Oh my, Jeannie, what did you do to me? I um my goodness – not been like this in so long, my love, I still um “ Lucien became quiet, and Jean asked, “Lucien, are you alright.” He started laughing, then chuckling, then weeping. “Jean, I feel like we did in Melbourne at the cottage. We were right for each other then, and we are still so right for each other. I love you so much, I can hardly tell you how much I feel for you, how much I love you.” “Lucien, I love you, adore you, missed you so badly, you are so, well so – “ Jean could not finish what she wanted to tell him, begin to cry into his chest. 

Several minutes later, Jean felt Lucien soften, carefully got off of him. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she returned to the bed, helped Lucien clean up. After repositioning his knee, packing it in cold compresses, she crawled back into bed. They both held each other closely, kissed each other, and Jean could feel Lucien begin to breathe deeply. “Jean, you are my love, do you know that? I am only whole with you. Thank you for waiting for me to come back, to be with me here in hospital, for giving me time to find my way. We are going to be alright, I know it.”

Richard and Diane were at the nurse’s station, chatting about Gus and Aaron, when they heard Jean’s yell and then Lucien’s roar. “Too close to their bedroom this evening, aren’t we?” Diane told him, smiling. Richard seemed more embarrassed with their antics than Diane appeared be. Richard simply told her, “I think Blake is coming back to Jean, and to us. At least that is my hope. They both deserve to be happy.”

After the group session, Matthew, Alice, and Bill gathered around a speaker phone and Bill placed the call to the POW wing. Danny, Charlie, Richard, and Aaron were waiting for the call. “Good evening, this is Danny. Do we have news for you! I will let Aaron tell you all about it.” “Aaron here. Danny, Charlie and I went to my office this evening and discovered the mystery man’s gear, stuffed in some cabinets – a duffel bag, a ruck sack, two more pistols, name on the gear was B. Green. We are going to go through it in the morning when Blake and Jean are awake.” “Aaron, what about you? How did you do in your office, for the first time?” Alice asked him, her voice indicating genuine concern for his well-being.” “Alice, it was hard, but I um did pretty good. Talked to Richard already and I think yes I am no worse for the trip. Still got the headache, but no worse than usual,” Aaron told her.

“This is Bill. I returned to Ballarat with several pistols, Alice has them, and now we need to work with two more pistols, is that right?” “Yes, we have them for you to take with you,” Charlie said. “Alice, again. I am working with the skeleton of Linemann. Pistols will be important of course. Have dental films ready to compare to his, if we can locate the originals of them. I have colleagues who study archeological remains and they are giving me some guidance in determining ethnicity, locale where he grew up, so we can be certain that the properties of this skeleton match what we know about him. Working this in among the police cases that Matthew keeps discovering.” 

“Matthew here. All of the contents of Locker 34 contents are in our hands now. Locked up. So we both have more mystery man gear to sort through. Let’s keep a list of what we find, compare them over the weekend. Alice and I will join all of you, probably Saturday afternoon for the two of us. Bill and Rose are coming with Joseph in the morning. Is the session with Paul, Lucien, Jean, and Rose still on for Friday afternoon?” Aaron said very quickly, “Yes, Paul will be here at 2 PM. And something to tell all of you. Long story, but will jump to the end – I got to experience Lucien Blake, the physician, in action tonight. Gus injured his wrist, made some bad decisions on how many pain pills he could tolerate and Lucien handled him so very well. Now, Gus is asleep, in one of the rooms in our wing. So, I imagine he will be hanging around here this weekend as well. Hugh and Paul are going to cast his wrist, maybe Monday. I will let Lucien tell you more.”

“And where are Jean and Lucien now?” Matthew asked. Richard started to answer the question, got to laughing a bit, “Couple Time, I think is what I prescribed last week. They are well into an evening of being together.” 

“Richard, I want to chat with you in private. Good bye to the rest of you,” Alice told the group. After they were able to talk, Alice asked about Aaron. “Richard talk to me about Aaron. How did he handle the office visit this evening? I don’t want that young man taking on too much too quickly.” “He has shown remarkable poise tonight, helping with Gus and then discovering the gear. That search was his idea. And Danny and Charlie are now concerned that someone in his office may have stored the gear for that man. Don’t know if they are over reacting or not. But a strange place to put your gear, needing to walk through the medical office building dragging it with you. Maybe someone else did help. Of course I will keep an eye on him.” Richard explained to Alice. 

Aaron woke up early, thought he heard a noise in the room next to him, not Blake, because he and Jean were in their small room, but Gus. He put his robe on, walked to the room, found Gus looking around the room, partially awake. “Gus, it is Aaron. You slept here last night, we worked on your injured wrist, do you remember any of that?” “Yes, Aaron, I do, I think. Blake was the lead, is that right? He did a good job handling me, putting me in my place. I needed that. Thought I heard Diane in and out last night, one time taking the IV down, other times packing my wrist,” Gus told him, smiling at him. “Gus, Diane also cancelled your call for last night, called and talked to your office staff, and they will be here at lunch to talk with you. Paul comes in early to work with on your wrist. I don’t think your fingers seem as swollen as last night,” Aaron told him. 

“You know you were bordering on bloody awful last night, don’t you Gus?” Aaron told him without mincing any words, surprised that he was talking to the older surgeon in that tone. “I imagine I was. Haven’t been hurt since I became a surgeon. Didn’t handle myself very well. Embarrassed myself, didn’t I?” Gus said, more forth coming than Aaron thought he would be. “Blake didn’t put up with me did he? He’s good, just needs some help on the medications, but otherwise, well, I know why I want to work with him, for him to serve as my physician. Tell me he didn’t hurt his knee, please, Aaron.” “Gus, no, he did not re injure his knee. And, I have something to tell you – Danny, Charlie and I found the Mystery Man’s gear stuffed in a cabinet in my office. We have it all here in the evidence room, and Matthew and Alice are coming down on Saturday to look at it with us,” Aaron told him, excited, grinning.

“Yes, that is important news. But, Aaron, how did _you_ do in your office?” “Gus, it was hard, standing where I got whacked, seeing the closet the guy stuffed me into, very hard, um yes it was. But talking to Richard last night helped – he was here to talk with you, but you were asleep. So we visited awhile. He is easy to talk with, gave me good suggestions, approaches. Talked to Alice as well. I have good physicians helping me, including you,” Aaron told him, smiling, putting his hand on Gus’ shoulder.

“Gus, do you need anything?” Aaron asked him. “Is it too early for some food?” Diane heard their conversation in Gus’ room and rolled in a cart with a tray of soft food for Gus to eat, a pot of tea, his medications, and more cold compresses for his wrist. “Gus, are you the growling ol’ bear from last night or are you better this morning?” Diane asked him, hoping he was calmer, under better control than last evening. “Much better, very hungry, not dizzy, no nausea, wrist does not hurt as much now,” Gus replied. “Please eat slowly, and if you feel any nausea coming on, let me know. Aaron, want to eat as well?” “Yes, that would be lovely.” 

As Jean and Lucien were waking up, she talked with him about Gus, treating him. “Lucien, I think you handled Gus very well last night. He can be so intimidating, difficult at times, but you would not let him get away with that behavior. You were able to get through to him, help him understand the bad decisions he made. A simple wrist injury escalated into a potential problem. I recognized the Lucien Blake, physician, that I love, live with, and simply adore,” Jean told him, smiling at him, kissing him passionately. “My love, I think you are looking at me with rose colored glasses on. I didn’t know my basic medications, needed help. That is not acceptable.” 

“But Lucien, you had your physical skills, intuition about how to handle a difficult patient, Gus listened to you. I do not think Hugh or James could have been as successful as you were. What I have gleaned from watching you as a physician, a police surgeon is this – my love – physicians are human beings, you lot have all of the foibles that the rest of us have, make poor decisions at times, and need to have their hands held, a good talking to, a good listener nearby. Lucien, you are a good person, no I would say you are special. And best of all, you are mine, every piece of you,” Jean told him, reaching for him to kiss, hug, and shed a tear on. 

“Jeannie, I appreciate your belief in me. I am trying so hard to come back to you, to believe in myself as a physician once again. And changing the subject, wasn’t last night incredible, – “ Lucien broke into a huge grin. Jean crawled on top of him, kissing his chest, whispering into his ear. He broke into laughter, “No, Jeannie, you don’t mean that, do you?” Their laughter coincided with a knock on the door. “Hey you two, time to get up. Quit making so much noise.” ”Richard, you know this was your idea in the beginning. Don’t want to stop pleasuring my gal just yet,” Lucien told him, chuckling. “Lucien Blake, stop that right now,” Jean tried to tell him, but he stopped her with a passionate kiss.


	37. Breaking the Code

Chapter 37 Breaking the Code

Carol knocked on Jean and Lucien’s door, “Breakfast in twenty minutes for you two. Do you need any help Lucien with your knee?” “No, I think Jean can help me. We’ll be right out.” They got dressed in their night clothes and robes, Jean put the new brace on, and Lucien reached for Jean’s hand, pulled her back towards him, and kissed her, several times. “Jean I do enjoy our evenings in bed, being together, talking about anything, loving each other. Thank you for waiting for me, coming to stay with me.” Then, they walked slowly to his hospital room. “I am looking forward to a time we can walk together, holding hands. Someday soon, I hope,” Jean told him. “I hope soon as well, my love,” Lucien told her.

Aaron and Gus heard them leave the room and met them in Lucien’s room. “Blake, I see you are following my orders about your knee. Thank you,” Gus told him, grinning at him. “And Blake, about last night. I needed to have my ears boxed, and you did a fine job. My wrist is better, not as swollen. What about the swelling in your knee?” “Gus, leg was wrapped in cold compresses, elevated all night. Don’t think I did it any damage. Has Paul been to check on you yet?” “Not yet. Should be here in the next half an hour.” 

Carol delivered breakfast for Lucien and Jean, a second tray of food for both Aaron and Gus, and a large pot of tea for all of them to share. Before they were finished, Bill and Rose walked in, carrying their overnight cases, satchels of notes. “Where is Joseph this morning?” Jean asked. “He left for his office already. Said he would check in later this morning with you two,” Rose told them. Rose walked up to Gus, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, “Gus, I heard you got into trouble last night. So I am not the only person who makes bad decisions, am I? Now we have a society of two,” she told him, smiling at him. Gus looked at her, grinning, “Yes Rose, look at my hand, what a bloody mess I created.” Aaron asked Rose, “And how are you this morning, Rose? You still look sleepy to me.” “Aaron, um Bill, Joseph, and I got up so early today. Seems so much harder when Jean is not waking us up, fixing our breakfast, hurrying us along. Jean, I miss you,” Rose explained, smiling at Jean and then Aaron. 

Paul joined them, said his hellos, and did a quick examination of Gus’ hand and felt his fingers, “Much better Gus, heard you behaved last evening. Let’s go to your room and let me work with it. Lady Jean will you come with us, help Gus behave himself? You were such a help for Aaron. I think he is going to need similar assistance,” Paul said, looking at Jean, pleading with her to help him.

As the three of them walked back to Gus’ room, Paul looked at Lucien and told him, “You stay here. I will ask for your help if I need it.” “Yes, of course Paul. I understand.” As Paul walked by Carol, he spoke quietly to her. Once Gus was lying down, Paul talked to him about what he wanted to do, how he should feel, and how he wanted Jean to help. Jean talked with Gus, kept his focus on her, somehow she kept him relaxed, as she tried not to look at the occasional acupuncture needle that Paul inserted, then removed. “Gus Wilson, you are much better behaved than last evening. Most of the medication you took has been flushed out, hasn’t it?” Jean asked him. “Yes, Jean, I think that is the case. I really messed up and my friends helped me, all of you really did. I hope I am not disowned by the Blake family,” Gus told her, staring at the floor. “No, Gus, we still consider you a family member. But don’t you ever do that again, understood?” Jean told him, and Gus knew she was quite serious. “Jean, I understand.” 

“Jean and Paul, let me tell you both something. My entire career I have been such a bear to my patients, telling them to get a stiff upper lip – but this episode, well, I have had my eyes opened and realize that what I need right now, as a patient, what I want so desperately is support, help, empathy from my caregivers. Both of you have given it freely, without me asking. And I thank you,” Gus told them, reaching out to touch both of them. “Gus, you are a talented surgeon, ready to tell people what they should do, but at the end of the day, you are still a person, frightened of things the rest of us are, even scared of the same things I am. Will this revelation will make you a more compassionate healer?” Jean asked him, smiling at him. “Yes, I certainly hope so, Jean.” “But I still want to be a damn fine surgeon,” Gus told her. “And so do I, Gus.”

Carol quietly walked in with another IV, quickly hooked it up, added some medication. “Thank you Carol for taking care of one very stupid, grumpy man last night. I am so sorry I put all of you in a bind, breaking rules left and right.” By the time Paul was finished working on his wrist, Gus was resting. “Jean, once again, thank you for your assistance. Gus didn’t realize this was a two pronged treatment this morning – me and Lucien. At least no arguing. He should be awake in a couple of hours,” Paul told her, as they walked back to check on Lucien.

Bill and Rose had a short list of items to discuss with Blake. “Lucien, the shower is on schedule for a Wednesday completion. It looks great, is not too big for the bath, painting will be completed on Monday. The ladies are deciding on new towels, making curtains, finding knickknacks for the entire bath. Going to look pretty spiffy. Hope Jean doesn’t mind they have taken over that end of things. Don’t tell Jean, please,” Rose told him. Then Bill began talking, “Matthew has a plot for Hannam picked out, his remains are due in Ballarat next Thursday. We need to get the money from Hannam’s bank account today and settle the bills in Ballarat. Matthew wants you to think of what text to put on the marker.” “Yes, Bill, I will write the text for the marker. I will thank Matthew when he is here tomorrow. Why don’t you, Danny and Charlie go to the bank and get the money you need today? Leave some funds in the account, alright?” Lucien told him, staring into the wall. “Doc, are you alright? I know this is hard for you. Can I do anything?” Bill asked, placing his hand on Lucien’s arm. “No, Bill, but thank you for asking.” 

“Rose and Bill, thank you for updating me. Two important things well under way. Is there anything else with the house to tell me?” “The rest of what is going on is top secret, you and Jean will have to wait until you are home,” Bill told him, with a grin. “Rose, aren’t you going to tell me?” Lucien asked, hoping he could find out. “No way. Got some good things started. We have all missed Jean so much,” Rose told him. “Just Jean?” “Well, Lucien, I have never lived in the house when you were there. Neither has Alice. I don’t know if we will get along or not,” Rose told him, with a devious grin. “Don’t know, you say? What has that lot told you about me?” Lucien asked her. “I will never say, Dr. Blake, never,” Rose told him, smiling at him.

Jean, Carol and Paul walked to the nurse’s station, Paul wrote his notes, not in the ‘official’ record, but for himself and Lucien, and then into Lucien’s room, to say his goodbyes until early afternoon. “Lucien, Gus is resting, he did well with the treatment, and Lady Jean kept him under control. Not the same man as last evening, thank goodness. Left my notes with Carol. You behave as well, no walking unless the brace is on. Right? Do you want me to check it while I am here?” Paul asked. “Um, yes, that would be good. I kept it elevated and packed last night, but still feels swollen.” 

Paul took off the brace, rotated his knee, felt it, brought some groans from Lucien. “So my friend, some swelling, I agree with you there. Should I do anything at this time? I don’t think so. Let me wrap it somewhat differently for you, and I will see this afternoon if that has helped decease the swelling. No weight on it, agreed?” Paul told Lucien. “Yes, of course, Paul. Thank you. I will behave myself. See you at 2 PM this afternoon, right?” “Yes, we have another project to work on, don’t we Lucien? Got to get to the shop now,” Paul told him as he walked out of the room. 

About 9 AM, two members of Aaron’s staff were escorted into a small room at the entrance of the suite. As Aaron entered the room, they acted glad to see him, asked how he was. “Still got a bad headache, neck hurts, really tired.” They talked about adjusting his schedule until February 8th. Before they left, he was handed a thick set of papers to signed. “Um, I can’t handle too many of these at one time. My headache will get really ugly if I do. I will work on this over the weekend, and get them back to you on Monday. Alright?” “Of course, no worries. When will you be released from hospital?” Being somewhat wary, at Danny and Charlie’s request, based on the fact the mystery man’s gear was in his office, not knowing when he stored his stuff there, Aaron gave an evasive answer, “Soon, I hope. Headache will be a constant companion for several weeks, I have been told. Recovering on my own individual schedule. I will call you on Monday. Thank you for helping me,” Aaron told them. 

While Aaron was talking with his staff, Hugh paid a visit to Lucien and Jean. “Morning, Major. Diane left me notes about your blood pressure, so let’s start with that. “Blood pressure is low normal this morning. I understand Diane took a sample for drug level last night and did not give you any medication. Seems like a sound decision on her part. I will track down the drug concentration for us. Seems like we need to keep checking your blood pressure two or three times a day for the near future.” “Yes, don’t stand up too quickly, I know, Hugh.” “Your ears are still clear, neurological exam is good, let me feel your skull fracture, neck. Any distress with me touching you here? Here?” Hugh asked, delighted that Lucien had no complaints. “Hugh, what about one more skull film, EKG before I go home?” Lucien asked. “Um not second guessing you, no not doing that,” Lucien quickly added, remembering how Gus was the previous evening. “Major, I know that. On my list to do both of them tomorrow,” Hugh said. 

“Hugh, um, been thinking about the ah well,” Both Jean and Hugh, looked at each other, wondering where this was coming from. “Yes, if I hadn’t been delivered here to hospital where someone recognized me, I um” “Major, you were brought here, and you know why? I think in the back recesses of your mind that you recognized enough buildings, street names, places like ‘Jean’s Toys,’ doors, to know you needed to get as close as you could to us. I think your knee just gave out a couple of blocks before you would have stumbled into our A&E. You put yourself in a position that we could help you. So why is this a topic of conversation today?” Hugh asked. “Well, tonight will be two weeks and it is on my mind,” Lucien told Jean and Hugh, some tears collecting in his eyes. 

Jean looked at Lucien, turned his face towards her, “Listen, Lucien, I love you, I need you, and we are going to be going to our home in a few days. There will never be a way to thank our friends for all of the incredible care they have given you and me in the last two weeks since you have been here. I think the same way as Hugh. You did your very best to get back here, to this hospital, so they could find you. You could have gone to so many other places in this town. And if you did, I think I would still be in Ballarat, wondering if you were alive or not.” “Jeannie, my love, I know that. And that still scares me, you by yourself, not knowing, can’t do that ever to you again. Just can’t.”

Hugh updated his records and left for his office hours. Then Lucien told everyone he could find near his room, “Let’s gather in the evidence room and look at the Mystery Man’s gear that Aaron, Danny, and Charlie discovered last night.” There was quite a crew by the time they all sat down. Carol started a large kettle of tea, made certain Lucien had his leg elevated. Danny, Charlie and Bill started unpacking the duffle bag, Lucien and Aaron did the same with the ruck sack. Rose served as the scribe. Both of the bags were stenciled ‘B. Green’ in a similar way that Lucien and Hannam had labeled their bags. 

The duffel bag contained a couple changes of clothing, a jacket, hat, a second pair of boots. Lucien told them to feel for hidden pockets in the bag, go through every piece of clothing for clues. Despite looking closely at the clothing, they discovered nothing interesting. “What about the boots?” Jean asked, remembering what they found in both Lucien’s and Hannam’s boots. Bill fiddled with the insoles and finally they came loose. There was paper under both of them, with phone numbers, account numbers from a bank – location?, a list of prescriptions – but for whom?, and several addresses, including the storage locker in Bendigo. 

Lucien and Aaron made more interesting discoveries in the ruck sack. The bag contained several hand drawn maps of Melbourne City Centre, with familiar landmarks near the hospital, such as the bank, where Lucien and Hannam had their accounts, Paul’s Oriental Medicine Shop, Jean’s Toys, areas where Danny and Charlie had searched looking for anyone sleeping rough. But nothing yet that indicated that the Mystery Man knew where Hannam had hidden Lucien, where they were sleeping rough. Aaron asked, “If he had all of this information, why couldn’t he figure out where you were sleeping?” “Don’t know, Aaron. And you know, we don’t know where he was sleeping, either,” Lucien replied.

A second paper had suite numbers for the offices of the POW Team, as well as for Aaron and Gus, and how to get to the POW suite of hospital rooms. “The man has done his homework, or someone here has helped him. So you two – Danny and Charlie – were right to tell me to be evasive with my staff. How could they?“ Aaron stopped, looked at the floor, surprised and disappointed, at what he was thinking. “Aaron, do not, do not jump to that conclusion. Do you have any evidence?” Lucien talked to him as he would a younger military officer. “No, I don’t Lucien. At least, not yet.” 

Aaron pulled out a key, from one of the hidden pockets in the ruck sack. “Well, look at this. There is a tag on it for a Hotel with an address that is several blocks away from hospital.” “Bill, why don’t you join Danny and me on a field trip to find the hotel, and see if the room still has more of his gear. Or maybe he checked out and just kept the key,” Charlie asked him. “Yes, I will go, and we need to get some money from Hannam’s account for his final expenses,” Bill told him.

Jean asked Lucien, “Is there any more information in the ruck sack about the drugs Hannam was giving you? Why would he have let Hannam be the only source of the doses?” “Jean, excellent questions, but I do not have an answer for you.” “Alright, here is another question for you, Lucien. When did you take the key to the locker in Bendigo, his pistol, his passport? How did you get them? Do you have any idea?” “Jean, you are going to have to stop asking me questions like that. I just don’t have a clue. Let me think about them, maybe something will surface. Bloody hell, I just don’t know a damn thing, do I?” Lucien answered, getting upset with himself, staring at the floor. 

Gus and Carol had walked into the room, stood at the back, listening to the conversation. Once Gus heard Lucien beginning to get rattled, he said, loudly, startling everyone in room, “Blake, you listen to me, right now. Listen. Don’t go down that hole, don’t you dare, do you hear me?” Gus said as he walked up to his good friend, put his good arm around Lucien’s neck, hugged him from behind, talking into his ear, quietly, for several minutes. Lucien put his hand on Gus’ arm and smiled at Jean. “Who let him out of his room?” Lucien asked the group, grinning at them. “Better, Blake?” “Yes, I am, and thank you Gus for waking up when I needed you. I am glad you are spending some extra time up here with us. Elevate you hand, please.” “Yes, I will.”

Before lunch, Gus asked Aaron if he would help him take a shower. This surprised Aaron, but Gus still seemed pretty subdued this morning, the swagger was gone, the harshness to his voice was not there. “Yes, Gus I will help you. Let me ask Carol if she has a wrap we can put over your wrist so we don’t get Paul’s good work wet. And I will ask her about some clean clothing for you. Be right back.” Within a few minutes, Aaron was back with a wrap for the wrist. “Gus, Carol told me to start your shower and by the time we are done, she will have some clothing for you. So let me put this over your wrist. Will try to be careful. I know it still hurts,” Aaron told him. “Yes it does. I messed it up pretty good.” 

They walked to the shower, Gus disrobed, sat on the shower seat, and Aaron handed him some soap and then some shampoo. After he was finished as much as his one hand could do, he looked at Aaron. “Need another hand here, will you?” “Yes, of course. Between the two of us, I think we can make this work. Want to sit in the warm water a while longer?” “Yes, I do Aaron.” Gus stayed in the shower for several minutes with warm water running over him before he said he was ready for a towel. 

“Aaron, thank you. That felt very good. Now let’s hope Carol has something for me to put on.” Aaron helped Gus back into his robe, they walked out of the shower, as Carol entered his room with a couple of clothing choices for Gus. He put on some green surgical pants and a shirt. “You look much better Gus. Hope you are feeling somewhat better as well. Let me get your arm in this sling,” Carol told him. “Yes, that helps. Thank you, Carol. My staff are coming soon to talk about schedules.” “And they are here, waiting for you, Gus. They are in the small room at the entrance of the suite,” Carol told him, still amazed at his transformation from last evening. 

Once Gus and his staff had reconfigured his office and surgery schedules, he joined Aaron, Lucien, Jean and Rose for lunch. No one brought up his escapade from the night before, and finally Gus said, “You are all avoiding my antics last night. I think I still have some ‘crow’ to eat, so bloody full of myself that I made my situation much worse than it should have been. Thank you all for helping, making me listen to you, I certainly hope I did not offend any of you. You are some of my dearest friends, and I know that, I do.” 

Lucien looked at him and carefully told him, “Gus Wilson, you have beat on yourself more than enough, you are not losing our friendship, and we now have the chance to remind you about this episode forever, yes I think, forever and a day,” he told him, grinning, and then chuckling. “Blake, my friend, if I ever forget this, you have my permission to knock some sense into me.“

“How much time are you taking off work, Gus?” Jean asked him. “Well, I thought I would get back to work on Monday – “ Gus said with a huge, silly looking grin. Lucien and Aaron both were ready to yell at him. “Um Monday three weeks from now for appointments, and Monday six weeks for surgery. Does that sound about right, Doctors Blake and Gage?” Gus said, laughing at the two of them. “Did you two think I was that deranged?” Gus chuckled. Aaron and Lucien looked at each other, then at Gus. ”It was certainly a possibility last evening, Gus!” Aaron told him.

“And Gus, are you going to stay with us in the Blake house in Ballarat, spend some time at Jean’s Place?” Rose asked him. “Jean, can I stay with all of you, please? I will behave myself, need to keep an eye on Aaron and Blake as well,” Gus asked Jean, smiling at her, looking at Lucien. “Of course you can stay with us. I am certain Alice needs one more patient to keep her busy. You know she does not suffer fools gladly, right?” “I already knew that Jean. I will behave myself.” 

Before they had completed lunch, Joseph walked into the room. “Good Day, everyone. Wanted to check on the walking wounded. And need to chat with Gus about tomorrow morning’s plans. Blake is excited about going to visit your shop – but now with you wrist injury, does that make any sense?” Joseph asked, hoping his young son would not be terribly disappointed if the answer was no. Gus looked at Lucien, who grinned back at him, and said, “Joseph, let’s not change plans. But I think you should come with us. Need one adult who is functioning on all cylinders. Say 10 AM, meet here, and we will get a couple of security to accompany us.“ “And one more thing, Major, are you writing in your journal? You need to keep up, every day, right?” Joseph asked. “Yes, Joseph, I will after lunch. Are Mattie and Jenny coming tomorrow as well?” Lucien asked him. “Of course, Jenny wants to see her ‘Lou Lou.’ Hope you are ready for her. Mattie wants to talk with Jean. Got hours in twenty minutes. Need to get on my way,” Joseph told the group as he left the room.

After Joseph had left the room, Jean handed Lucien his journal. “Write for Joseph and me. Do it now, please,” she told him. “Jean, I will do it later,” Lucien told her, handing the journal back to her. “No, that is not acceptable. Write.” “Well, what if I just write, blah, blah, for a page and quit.” “You will have to explain your bad behavior to Richard on Monday. I will not give you any excuses for failing to do your daily journaling,” Jean told him, eyebrow raised, staring at him. “Oh alright, let me have it. You can be such a taskmaster, Jean Blake,” Lucien told her, grinning, reaching for her hand. “I will write a love note to you. I will tell you how much I missed you. Will that be sufficient?” Jean looked at him, shaking her head, smiling, grinning, and then laughing. “You can be such a silly little boy, can’t you Lucien Blake.” “Yes, I can. Do you still love me Jeannie?” “Of course, I do. Now write.”

On Friday afternoon, Paul, Aaron, Jean, and Rose joined Lucien to work with the small notebooks that both Hannam and Lucien had. At first, Paul and Rose took Hannam’s, while Jean and Aaron took Lucien’s. As they looked at each page, they noted the language, style of numbers, searched for potential locations, drug protocols, trying to figure out a pattern of some sort. They all sat and looked at each other. “See, why I asked for help? What is the key to opening this up? Where do we start?” Lucien asked, a perplexed look on his face.

Paul started, “I think we start at the end of your disappearance Lucien. I am thinking October to December, 1964. We start with Hannam’s notebook, because with your injury, I doubt you were able to record anything. So, Hannam would be recording where you two were, how he was getting you out of Cambodia. Look at the numbers – why not longitudes and latitudes for these? Let’s find a map and see if that is correct.” “Don’t need a map. I know that. It is Cambodia, Sihanoukville Port,” Lucien nearly yelled his response. “How did you know that, Lucien? We don’t even have an atlas in front of us!” Jean asked him. “Well, um, I just know that – I do,” he said with a grin, reaching for Jean’s face to kiss her. “And these later numbers would put us in Canberra and Melbourne,” Lucien pointed out, with authority of a Colonel, the rank he had attained during his absence from Ballarat. “Maybe you are the smartest person in the room, today,” Jean told him, smiling, taking his hand and kissing it. “No, my love, no way. We are working on this as a team, only can pull it off, with everyone’s help,” Lucien told the group. 

Jean asked Paul, “How do I know what month, day, year? Where is that? Show me.” Paul looked at Hannam’s notebook, and was stumped. “Well, Lady Jean, that is not obvious is it?” Aaron broke into a smile, said, “Yes, look here, Jean. See, ‘8O10’ – Now what if that is code for the eighth of October 1964, with the ‘19’ not there and the ‘64’ added up to make ten. What do you think?” Lucien scanned both his and Hannam’s notebooks, looking for a similar sequence of letters and numbers. It appeared that Aaron was correct. “Incredible. Yes, both notebooks.” Jean picked up Lucien’s notebook, and opened a page, found ‘25M9’ and looked at him. “Lucien, here is our wedding anniversary, 25th of March 1963, and you were gone, not celebrating with me. So where were you? Can you tell from the notebook entry?” “Jean, I think I was in Thailand then – check the passports. So, everyone, is the longitude latitude there?” Lucien asked. 

As they studied that entry and the days around it, nothing was obvious. Paul took the notebook again, and looked at it, “Yes, oh my goodness, Lucien, you switched to Chinese script,” Paul said, pointing at what looked like text that had been erased, but was really an entry. “Why did you switch languages, Lucien?” Rose asked him. “Rose, I have no idea right now, none. Jean, I missed two anniversaries didn’t I?” “Yes, you did, 1963 and 1964. But I think you will be with me in 1965 won’t you my love?” “Yes, will be a big celebration, for just the two of us. We may never get out of be that day, my love,” Lucien said, watching her turn red, then purple. He could not suppress his laughter. “Did I embarrass you, Jeannie?”

“And what about the drugs they had you on? When did the entries about them start? Or maybe my question should be, when did Hannam start decreasing the dose:” Rose asked, scratching her head, in confusion. “Did any of that make sense?” Aaron told her, “Yes, it did Rose. So what drug numbers to look for?” Jean quickly looked at the blackboards, scanned them and said, “14, 65, 70.” Paul took Hannam’s notebook, started at the last page, began working his way backwards. “Here, an entry labeled  
‘4N10 65/-7, 14/-7, 70/-7’ and if what we figured out before is right, that would be 4th of November 1964 – you two were on your way to Canberra and all of the drugs were given to you at what – a seventh strength or perhaps 70% of full strength? Would that make any sense, Lucien?” 

“Paul go back to what June or July and see if you find something like ‘70/1’ for full strength, or ‘70/-9’ for 90% of the full dose. Anything like that there?” Lucien asked. Aaron and Paul started working through the months of June and July, scouring over the notes, dates, and finally found an entry. “Listen up, on 30Je10, 65/-9, 14/1, 70/1 are noted,” Paul said, breaking into a huge grin. 

“Alright, let me see if I can read this,” Rose said. On the 30th of June 1964, drug numbers 14 and 70 are at full dose, but drug 65 is at 90%. Is that right?” “Yes, Rose, that is the way to read it,” Lucien told her. “How did you know that, Lucien?” Rose asked. “Rose, I just did. That is the code that Hannam and I devised. And I remember that now, I do. Thank all of you for helping me, yes,” Lucien struggled to finish his sentence. “Oh my goodness, Lucien, we have a breakthrough, don’t we?” Jean told him, standing up, putting her arms around his neck. She felt his tears dropping onto her hands, gasping for a breath, shaking his head back and forth. “Jeannie, my love, yes. How can I ever thank all of you?” 

Rose looked at the group and proposed, “Listen, I think when Lucien got his skull injury he would not write in his notebook, probably for several weeks.” “And, Rose, you should go to October and see when I stopped recording. The day before would be the day I got whacked, don’t you think? Would you look Rose? What can you tell me?” 

Quickly, Rose turned page after page in Lucien’s notebook, scanning it thoroughly, and then she pointed, stopped, and said, “Yes, yes. Lucien, you wrote on the fourth of October and then nothing until the 30th of October. So perhaps, on the fourth or fifth of October you were severely injured. Of my goodness, Lucien, um, we just figured out a major piece of the puzzle didn’t we?” Rose told him. “Rose, thank you so very much. I am just left speechless at everything we have discovered this afternoon. Keep good notes, everyone will want to learn about this,” Lucien told her. “And I will update the timeline right now!” Jean told them, smiling, nearly beaming, so very happy.

Aaron, Rose and Paul looked at each other, and Paul said, “We will go through his notebook and get a timeline established for the drugs. Will get some tea and get underway.” “Aaron, Aaron Gage, you need to stop working on this right now! Your brain has had too much stimulation this afternoon. Please stop,” Lucien told him. “Blake, I feel great, want to help, I do. I feel fine,” Aaron told him, grinning. “I feel like I am doing something, finally. Don’t spoil my afternoon, Dr. Blake, please.” Lucien shrugged his shoulders, looked at Aaron, “Young man, don’t yell at me tonight if you feel absolutely disgusting.”

After the notebook session, Aaron, Lucien, and Paul changed into swim trunks and entered the warm water. They all relaxed, enjoying the warmth of the water. Gus stayed out of the water, but still tried to ‘boss’ Lucien from afar. “Blake, start on your exercises. Let me see how far you get this afternoon.” Once again the difficult exercises were near the end of the sequence and the notoriously difficult #12 stopped him. “Damn it, Gus, that last one is so bloody hard to do,” Lucien groaned, grimaced some. “I will look at your knee, once Aaron finishes his set,” Paul told Lucien. “Don’t push your knee, Blake.” “Don’t worry, Paul, I will not do another exercise. I will just wait for you.” 

“I am having some problems today as well, Lucien,” Aaron told him. “And you want my medical opinion on that, Aaron?” Lucien asked him. “No, I know why. I have over done it. But I had such a good day. Finally felt human and now, well, I think I am going to pay dearly this evening,” Aaron told him, wishing that was not going to be the case. 

As Paul worked with Lucien’s knee, they debated when Gus’ wrist could be placed in a cast. “Lucien, I think probably Monday or Tuesday would be about right. Let the swelling decrease, let me complete my treatments, yes, that is my proposal,” Paul told him. “And I think he stays in the cast four weeks minimum. Needs an x-ray before we cast it and then at four weeks to check on the healing,” Lucien told both Paul and Gus. Gus looked at both Paul and Lucien, and then surprised them, “I agree, yes I do on both points.” “Gus, are you feeling alright?” Paul asked him, grinning at him. “What a change from last evening!” 

“Now, Paul, what about Blake’s knee?” Gus asked. “Swelling is less than this morning. Let’s try a different wrap tonight, cold compresses, elevation, see what tomorrow morning brings. I think the swelling will be less. Lucien, your way to gauge improvement will be exercise #12. Can you do it without any pain?” Paul told him. “Yes, that sounds like a reasonable plan. Gus are you in agreement?” “Yes, your knee doesn’t seem as swollen as it did last night. I also want to readjust the brace. Paul, let me tell you how to do that.”

Friday evening, Bill and Rose joined Gus, Aaron, and Diane for dinner. Rose noticed right away that Aaron did not seem to be doing well. She knew he had been involved in the Gus scenario the night before, and today, dealing with the mass of paperwork from his office, the mystery man’s gear, and the Hannam and Blake notebooks in the afternoon. Add in the work with Paul in the therapy room. Undoubtedly Aaron had done far too much this Friday. He should have listened to Lucien, but well, look what I did to myself last week. Fell over finally. Hugh and Carol rescued me. 

Looking at Diane and Gus, Rose motioned with her eyes and shoulder to cast their view on Aaron. Diane walked quickly to Aaron’s side and told him to look at her as she checked his eyes, and she quickly motioned to Gus. “Aaron, let me see what’s going on, my friend. I think you had too much fun with the troops today, didn’t you? Let’s pack his neck and shoulders and cover his eyes, and put in the earplugs, turn the lights down in here. Get a basin for him just in case.” Aaron looked at Gus, grimaced, and held his head, and moaned, “Gus, I feel just awful.” “I imagine you do, my friend. Here, let me hold you while Diane packs your neck and shoulders.” 

Once Diane had finished, she and Gus laid him back onto his pillows. “Blake was right, told me to stop, I would not. So dizzy. Do we have to tell him?” “No, I will not interrupt him right now. He and Jean are eating Italian this evening. I know that James will be back to check on Lucien about 9 PM. But I will also alert Hugh and Richard to your situation. I will keep an eye on you this evening, Aaron. Now, you need to rest,” Diane told him. 

Diane brought an IV setup with several medication choices for Gus. He motioned to her which ones to add to the IV. Rose had the lights dimmed, and was sitting by Aaron’s side holding his hand, talking quietly to him. A few minutes after the IV started running, Aaron was out like a light. “Now I understand why he is coming home with us, going to stay several weeks. He needs more time,” Rose told them. “Yes, Rose. I imagine my wrist will be healed long before he recovers fully from the whack on his head. We need to make certain Alice knows about this episode. She connects with him, can talk with him more tomorrow,” Gus told her. 

“You know Gus, our little society has increased by one member tonight, hasn’t it?” Rose asked him. “Yes, it has Rose. We are going to have to give our elite group a name.” “What society are you – wait, I just figured it out, Rose, Gus and now Aaron. Yes, made yourselves ill and left Carol and me to straighten you up,” Diane laughed as she talked to them. “Nice way to put it, Diane. Thank you,” Gus told her. “Gus, you need to sit down as well, elevate your wrist – please,” Diane ordered. “Yes, of course. Here I am like Blake and Aaron last night. Treating a patient, while being a patient. Breaking the rules once again.”


	38. Countdown

Chapter 38 Countdown

As Jean and Lucien were lying in his hospital bed, he began kissing her neck, her hands, her cheeks, then asked, “Jeannie, are you ready for a Chef’s Choice Italian dinner? Should we change into our night clothes first? Then walk to our little sleeping room? I wonder what they will fix for us? What kind of wine James picked out? If they will have the room decorated like last week? Do you know this time next week will be Christmas night? Our ring ‘do’ will be finished, we will have our new rings on our fingers. Our presents will be opened, I will be digesting my lamb dinner, and we will be home, in our house, our room, our bed. Do you know I am so looking forward to Christmas?” Lucien told her, excitement in his voice, grinning, reaching for her hands to hold. “How could I not know that? Look how many questions you asked in one breath! The little boy is coming out of you. I remember how you like to decorate the tree, wrap the presents, hang mistletoe and then hold me underneath it, kiss me, tease me. But you forgot one thing – Santa Claus! Yes, Santa Claus will have paid you a visit as well. He has several presents in mind for you. Some of them are to be opened just in our bedroom, in the presence of the two of us,” Jean told him, with a wicked grin, lifted eyebrow. “Really, so you are going to be one of my presents? That sounds so good to me. Jeannie, can we get more than one tree? We have space for three don’t you think? Do we have enough decorations?” “If we don’t, I will buy some more. Let’s get changed. Hugh should be here in a few minutes, my love.”

By the time they had changed clothing, Hugh came down the hallway, and stuck his head in the room. “You two ready for dinner and an evening alone? This food smells so delightful, Lucien and Jean. Let me get to the room and start unpacking it. As Lucien and Jean walked into the room, Hugh and Diane were finishing up opening the food containers, then Hugh uncorked the wine bottle, looked around the table, and proclaimed, “Ready! Enjoy yourselves, but keep your knee elevated and in the brace, Major.” “Yes, I will follow your orders. Thank you for picking the food up for us, Hugh.” “My pleasure. James will check on you two at 9 PM and then I will be back in the morning. Let Diane know if you need anything, right?” “Of course.”

Lucien stood behind Jean’s chair and helped her sit down, well as carefully as he could, being on crutches and dealing with the brace. He placed her napkin on her lap, leaned down and kissed her passionately, and chuckled. “Woops, not supposed to do that until later, right. Just forgot!” he said with a laugh. “Thank you, Lucien. You are feeling pretty spry this evening, aren’t you?” “Yes, the countdown is on. We leave on Tuesday, for home. I am actually getting excited about it. Last week, I was still so apprehensive about so, so much. But we have been together, I mean, really together since then, and I am getting more relaxed with you, with us, know that you are going to be with me, and I am going to be with you, my love.”

“So, what do you want to begin eating first? It all looks so good, smells fantastic, um yes, looks like one entre is veal parmesan with marinara sauce and the other is shrimp alfredo. Let’s split these between us. A nice green salad, those skinny bread sticks that I like, olive oil, dessert – what is it?” Jean asked. As Lucien looked at it, tasted a bit of it, “Jeannie, you won’t believe this, you just won’t, this is panna cotta. Do you recall –“ “Of course I do Lucien, we had that dessert on our very first trip to Melbourne, when we had to stay overnight, in the hotel suite, together, and I slept in the same bed with you, woke up with you, was not as mortified as in Ballarat,” Jean told him, smiling. “But, as I recall, you were still purple around the edges, my love,” Lucien grinned at her, reached for her hand to caress and kiss. “Yes, I was, and you still can trigger that red-purple hue, can’t you?” “Yes, I can, on occasion. And the scars on my back and um Ratcliffe standing at attention, did not run you off, thank goodness.”

Laughing at Lucien, Jean told him, “My life would be so, so different if we did not stay together that night, talk about us, make some decisions. I love you, Lucien Blake. I love you more now than when we were wed. I want you to know that, hear it from me before I choke up, start weeping with happiness.” Jean asked for his handkerchief, smiled at Lucien, shook her head back and forth. “How on earth am I going to handle the ceremony to renew our vows? I will be standing in a puddle of water when it is complete.” “And Jean Mary Randall Beazley Blake, do you think I will be any different? Will you share your puddle of water with me, my one and only love?”

“Let’s make some of the easy decisions about our ‘do’ on Christmas day. I think Matthew and Alice should be the Masters of Ceremony, for want of a better term. Then I will ask Rose and Mattie to stand up with me,” Jean told Lucien. “I will ask the Melbourne Four to stand up with me, and I want Blake to be the ring bearer for us. And I think Gus should be in charge of Blake during the ceremony. Jenny seems to like Aaron so let’s put him in charge of holding her,” Lucien smiled as he told Jean his ideas. “Lucien, this is falling into place pretty easily. Too bad the vows can’t be this straight forward. Now I know Diane, Carol and Paul are coming, as well as Danny and Charlie. Bill and Peter will be in attendance. Cec is going to help fancy up our backyard and provide the liquor. Also Cliff and Allie, Arnie and Kate, and Vincent and Ella will be helping us.” 

“Jean, let me tell you what I think I want to tell you,” Lucien told her, smiling at her. “Wait, let me write your ideas down, decide if any of them are any good,” Jean told him, with a silly look on her face. “I want to tell you that I um thought I would fire you on my return to Ballarat, but um my God, Jeannie, you were so beautiful, you did not put up with my antics, forced me to look um well, this is not going very well is it, my love.” “No, Lucien, it isn’t. So maybe we use the old vows at first, exchange new rings and then write the new vows out, read them, try not to sniffle too much.”

“Lucien, what if I started with this – “Lucien Radcliffe Blake, I love you. I have no doubts that you love me. Since I met you, my life has become more than this country girl ever imagined. The two of us, being a couple, working with you in your surgery, with the POW grant team, insured that I possessed the strength, the resolve, the ability to survive your long, long absence. And when I began to falter, the entire Blake family picked me up and put me back on my feet. I knew the telephone call from Melbourne was about you, Lucien, I just knew it. My love, you are back, we are together. I love you, love you dearly, I um ah well, here they come again.” Jean had to stop talking, wipe her eyes once again. “Jean, I wrote most of that down. I think it is what we need to tell each other. You had an excellent idea, you are so smart, you know that my love?” Lucien told her, as he held her hands, helped her wipe some tears. 

After several more attempts at their new vows, Jean looked at Lucien, grinned, “This is giving me a pain in the neck. I think I need your attention, Dr. Blake.” “Oh you do, well I think my treatment plan is pretty straightforward – get you into our bed, shower you with kisses, everywhere I can reach, massage your neck and then love you until we fall asleep. How does that sound to you, my Jeannie?” “Yes, I think that will most definitely help. Let’s get your other brace on your leg, and get into bed and see if you can make my neck feel better.”

James returned to the POW floor about 9 PM to check on both Lucien and Aaron. He walked up to Diane and asked for Lucien’s chart, scanned it, and handed it back to her. So, so much better than last week. My Major was still on the street two weeks ago. Hard to fathom. 

Then he picked up Aaron’s chart, looked at the notes, and shook his head. “Diane, he had one terrible episode. Thank you for helping him. Let me check him and we will plan a treatment strategy. Is Gus in bed as well?” “James, Gus is asleep, arm elevated and packed in cold compresses. Aaron is quiet, he just did entirely too much today. I think you should call Alice and get her up to speed with him. I understand she and Matthew will be here for the weekend, arriving about noon tomorrow,” Diane told him. “Will check on Lucien and Jean first.”

James knocked on the door, announced that he was there, slowly opened it, and saw that Lucien and Jean were already in bed, kissing each other, chatting, holding hands. “Sorry to interrupt but need to fulfill my medical obligations to my patients. Anything to report to me?” “James, we were talking about so many things, but the one that we keep coming back to is this – two weeks ago, my love was still on the streets, lost and alone, injured and in danger – until he was delivered to your A&E treatment room. It makes us both shiver,“ Jean stopped, wiped some tears from her eyes. James smiled at Jean and Lucien and said, “Listen Jean, we figured out who he was, and sprang into action to help both of you. The amount of progress, well, only Major Blake could be on that upward trajectory so fast.”

“Major, need to check your blood pressure and probably adjust the medication once again.” “Go ahead and do it. Been low normal all day. I think you will cut it back once again,” Lucien told him, “But, James, I am not second guessing you, no, not doing that.” Once James had taken his blood pressure, he said, grinning, “Major, are you ever wrong?” “I have been wrong many, many times. I imagine you know that I could not for the life of me remember the names of the medications I wanted for Gus last night. Still got that information stored somewhere in my brain, packed in concrete, I guess.” “I will leave orders with Diane to change the medication in the morning. Alright, keep your knee elevated, in cold compresses, in the brace. I am going to swing by Aaron’s room tonight, check on him. If you two need anything, press the call button, right?” James told them, grinning, shaking his head at the two of them.

James got Aaron’s chart and walked into the room. He was sound asleep and a quick exam indicated he was stable. James decided to was going to chat with Alice tonight, figure out how to approach the switchover from the Melbourne team to her, which would occur on Tuesday. “Diane, let’s call Alice tonight and the three of us can plan our approach for Aaron,“ James suggested. The three of them decided to keep Aaron in bed until noon when she would be there, keep the room quiet and darkened. In the afternoon, he would have another skull x-ray. Alice also told James and Diane, “Don’t go hard on him – Aaron is smart, he knows what he did. We need to support him, talk with him, be gentle with him. Now if he pulls this again, I will personally make his life extremely difficult.” Neither Diane or James doubted Alice Harvey. 

As Jean and Lucien walked back to Lucien’s room to eat breakfast, Paul strolled down the hallway. “Good morning, Lucien and Lady Jean. You both look pretty chipper this morning. I am going to see Gus and then get my shop open by 9 this morning. Carol, I may need some help with Gus. Will you?” “Of course, Paul. Lucien, let’s get you into bed, leg elevated, and then I will assist Paul,” Carol told them. “Right. Hope Gus behaves himself for you,” Lucien said, with a grin on his face. Gus, indeed behaved himself, let Paul work on his wrist and hand, did not give him any grief. Paul wrapped his wrist, Carol packed it in cold compresses, elevated it. Gus broke into a big grin, “I am better this morning. Don’t you think Paul? I know my behavior is much improved from a couple of days ago, agreed?” “It most certainly is, my friend. I still think Tuesday is the day to cast your wrist. Elevate your wrist, get caught up on your reading, sleep. I will check on you this afternoon. I want to work with Lucien and perhaps Aaron, if he feels better. I heard about his troubles last evening. The three of you are quite a trio!” Paul told Gus his opinion, chuckling. “You know, I feel for Dr. Alice Harvey. Does she have a clue what her life will be like with the three of you in Ballarat?” Paul told him, as he walked out of the room. 

After Jean and Lucien ate breakfast, Hugh and James dropped by. “Going to do our final cardiac checks on the two of you this morning. You have been in hospital two weeks, and we decided that if you were both stable, this would be the final EKG. Carol and James will work with Jean and I have you Major. So let’s get underway,” Hugh told them. James walked Jean out of the room to a small examination room near Carol’s station and in twenty minutes they were back in Lucien’s room. “Lucien, I am fine. Just that one incident, two weeks ago at 6:30 in the morning, like you had,” Jean told him, reaching for his hand to hold. “Hugh, is Lucien alright as well? His EKG is fine but the blood pressure is still adjusting to a lower level of drugs. I will predict when the drugs are truly down to nothing, you will not need that medication. So, Carol, once again I have changed the dosage. Check him every eight hours for us, alright?” 

“Major, the drug concentration is now about 35% of that on your admittance to hospital. All three of them are decreasing, testosterone levels are increasing, as you predicted. Are you experiencing a difference – “ Hugh did not get the opportunity to finish his question, before Jean jumped in – “Hugh, we are!” as Lucien gave her the silliest look, grinning, laughing, and then pushing his hair down. “Major, we all know that to be true, you two are not that quiet,” James told him, grinning, chuckling. “Jeannie, come here. You are turning bright red, and I think I need to hold you,” Lucien told her, reaching for her hands. “Lucien, I um well, I think ah I just embarrassed myself. My goodness,” Jean’s thinking process ground to a halt and she buried her face in Lucien’s chest. James put a hand on both Lucien and Jean, quietly said, “Well done, Jean and Lucien.”

“Getting serious once again, Major, final skull x-ray this afternoon. Neurological exams have been good the last few times. Don’t want any surprises for Alice when you get home,” Hugh told his Major. “And I want to say how pleased we all are at your physical progress. We moved you into this room just two weeks ago, and now we are letting you return home on Tuesday,” James told him. 

“But, James and Hugh, there is so much I do not remember, about my disappearance, my return, what I did while I was away, about being a physician. It is so bloody frustrating, it is,” Lucien explained, reaching for Jean’s hands to hold. “What are we going to do?” “Lucien, we take each day at a time. You work with Richard and Alice, you let your brain heal, drug levels decrease. Give yourself time. Two weeks ago we had no idea if you would be able to make such progress. Lucien, give yourself credit. You will recover, I believe in you, my love,” Jean told him, tears in her eyes. “Jeannie, I love you. I do,” Lucien tried to tell her before he teared up, held her tightly. Hugh and James looked at each other, and James told them, “Major, I am so glad I visited your surgery in Ballarat, met Jean, reestablished our friendship. Being a member of the medical team in this episode in your life. I love the two of you, we are family, yes Blake family.” Hugh walked up to his good friend and colleague and put an arm around James’ shoulders. “Hugh, James, we love you both,” Jean told them both, smiling at them, then gazing at Lucien. “And yes, I love you Lucien Blake.”

Lucien heard Little Blake coming down the hall before he saw him. That little tyke was so excited, it was infectious. Blake was trying to walk slowly, be quiet, and was somewhat successful until he saw his Uncle Lucien. “Are you ready to go? Where is Dr. Gus?” the youngster asked. “I am right here young man. Let’s help your Uncle into his wheelchair, alright?” Gus said as he walked into the room, accompanied by Joseph, Mattie and Jenny. “Dr. Gus, your arm?” “Hurt it, so we will need your Daddy to go with us this morning. Is that alright?” Gus told him, smiling at the him and then at Joseph. “We told him to be careful with not only Lucien but also you. Mattie and Jenny will be here with Jean. Are we ready?” Joseph asked the group. 

Carol walked into the room and said that Danny and Charlie wanted to see the design shop and would provide security for the group. Jean walked out of the shower, smiled at the group, and asked, “Will you be back by noon? Let Carol get a head count before you leave,” as she walked up to Lucien and kissed him. “Hi, Auntie Jean. Daddy and I will take care of Uncle Lucien for you,” Blake told her. Jean leaned down to him, placed a kiss on his forehead, and he just beamed. Mattie walked up to Jean and hugged her as the troops left for their adventure. “So glad you are here Mattie, so much to talk about for next week, plan, need to go shopping this afternoon, will you help me?” Jean asked her, while smiling at Jenny. 

Danny and Charlie took charge of the motley crew of Gus, Lucien, Joseph and Little Blake as they made their way through the hallways toward Gus’ design shop. Gus handed Joseph his keys, pointed out the one to open the door, and they all went inside. Lucien stared at all of the equipment, an enormous wall of tools – all carefully arranged, three cabinets of supplies, a multitude of diagrams, a rehab area with a mat, parallel bars for working with a patient, two examination tables – nothing was out of place. “Gus, my goodness, this is impressive, so well organized. And you designed my braces here, right?” Lucien asked him, grinning at everything Gus had accumulated. “Yes, Lucien, much of the design is in my head before I start putting it all together here. I figure in a couple of months you will be back here for a week of intensive therapy for your knee. I really want it healed first.” 

Danny picked up a device and asked, “Gus, for an elbow injury?” “Yes, you are spot on.” “What about a brace for your wrist?” Charlie queried Gus. “No, I am not thinking that way at this point. That would be for a wrist with several breaks, perhaps a compound break, when I would not want to cast it, but need to provide protection.” Little Blake had been wandering around the shop, with Joseph in tow, and finally walked up to Gus, “Dr. Gus, this is just one big erector set. Some of this looks just like mine.” “Blake, I had an erector set when I was younger, and I think that is why I like to play with all of this now. And I get to help my patients, like your Uncle Lucien.” Will Uncle Lucien get a new brace today?” “Don’t think so, because I cannot work with him the way I would like to. I hurt my wrist and it needs to heal before I can use it,” Gus told him, putting his good arm around Blake’s shoulders. 

“Wait a minute. Lucien, let’s get you on the table and let Joseph work with your knee and the brace you have on now.” As Lucien stretched out on the table, Danny put Blake near the end of the table, Joseph began to follow Gus’ instructions on how to move the leg. Lucien did not complain. “Now, Blake, if your Uncle did not have this brace on, he would be hurting, complaining, probably yelling at us for what we were doing.” “When will he have it off?” “Probably another six weeks or so.” Blake looked at Gus, and then started counting out loud, one two three four five six – that is February, right?” “Yes it is, young man,” Lucien told him. Gus looked at Lucien and told him, “Lucien, your knee is better this morning. That is excellent news.” “Yes, it is indeed.”

Lucien sat up on the table and watched as the rest of the group wandered around the shop, asking questions, getting answers. Blake pulled on Gus’ good hand and whispered in his ear. Gus grinned and asked Joseph, “We have a request from your son. Can his wrist look like mine? And will you do the wrap?” “Blake, are you certain? You are righthanded, will have a hard time eating lunch, won’t be able to do your puzzles, play with your erector set that we brought for you,” Joseph explained to him. “I just want to show momma where we have been. We can take it off after that, right?” Blake said, smiling at his father. “Joseph, go ahead, will be a good teaching moment, and he will know the real issues with an injured arm,” Lucien told him, smiling at his name sake. Before they left the shop, Little Blake had his wrist wrapped similar to Gus. 

Jean breathed a sigh of relief when Joseph and the fellows left Lucien’s room. She looked at Mattie and said, “I love that man to death, but not living with him for over two years and now being with him all of the time, under everyone’s microscope, it can get a bit trying. Need some time with my friends, girlfriends, well I am not a ‘girl’ any longer, so I guess I should have said ‘women’ friends. “Jean, I understand completely. And I am certain Rose does as well,” Mattie told her, reaching for her hand to hold. As Rose entered the room, she looked at Jean and Mattie and said, “Of course I agree with you.” She took Jenny from Mattie, and began to play with her. “Mattie, I think Jenny has grown more every time I see her. She is such a cutie. When are you coming to Ballarat for the holidays?” “Good question, Rose. That one is on my list as well,” Jean said, as she smiled at two of her very good friends. “Joseph’s small group wants to cancel the Thursday session because of it being Christmas Eve and reschedule for Sunday afternoon,” Mattie told them. “Same for the ladies group Thursday afternoon. I think they will both be at our house on Sunday afternoon,” Rose said. Jean looked at them, “Not a problem. We will figure out a time and place, very important to have a place to talk about how everything went, unpack the good and the bad.”

“Getting back to your question, Jean. We are coming on Thursday morning. Going to bring Santa Claus presents with us. Stay until you and Lucien run us away,” Mattie told Jean, reaching to hold her hand. “It has been so long since both you and Lucien were there. Jenny has never been in the house with him. I wonder what she will think and what Lucien will think. An hour here holding her is a different game than 24/7,” Mattie said. ”We will just pass her around, spoil her to no end, and send her home with you and Joseph,” Rose said, grinning. “Yes, I was afraid of that Rose.” 

“Mattie, I could take some of the presents back with me tomorrow – if that would help you,” Rose told her. “Excellent idea, Joseph has them in his office to keep Blake away from them. Let’s talk to him when they are back from Gus’ shop and look at how much room you have in your luggage,” Mattie smiled as she answered Rose. 

“Since everyone is away, I have several more items to talk about, just the three of us,” Jean said with a silly grin. “Didn’t think it would be so simple to have our time this early in the day. Now, Santa Claus is a good place to start. Lucien is talking about Santa Claus visiting the kids and – yes of course, the big kid, Lucien Blake. He is getting so excited about going home. So who can we get to visit us? I thought perhaps asking Cec – he has so many contacts in town. What do you think?” “Jean, that is on my list. I will talk with Cec and line it up. When do you want the visit? Christmas eve or Christmas day?” Rose asked. “Christmas eve – after dinner,” Mattie answered. “We told Blake that is when Santa will come to visit, he will know we are at the Blake house in Ballarat and he will bring him one present then. Everything else he can open in the morning. So let’s do it then.” “Fine with me, I was thinking the same timing for Lucien,” Jean said. “But don’t expect him to open just one present. He is presenting an argument like this – ‘I have missed two Christmas seasons, and I must celebrate those two and this one all at the same time,’” Jean said grinning, shaking her head. “Watch the look on his face when he talks about going home, Christmas – the little boy is there, sometimes very excited, other times so afraid of being hurt. So let’s go for the ‘excited’ version of Lucien this year,” Jean told them.

“I am taking over the conversation, but one more thing. I want to go shopping this afternoon and get new sheets, pillowcases, and a new duvet for our bed. I have not replaced them since Lucien went away,” Jean said, smiling at them. Mattie spoke up very quickly, “No Jean, you do not need to purchase those items. You do not.” “Mattie, what are you saying – um, well, yes, alright. The look on your face tells me someone is getting this for us, right?” Jean said. “Alright, I am thinking of new towels, curtains for the bathroom makeover. Can I look for those?” This time Rose jumped into the conversation, “Jean, No. You are not allowed to do that either.” “Well, um ah, this takes several items off of my ‘To Do’ list,” Jean said, looking at both of the young women, lifting her eyebrow at them. “Do not be perturbed at us, Jean. And please, do not ask us any questions about either one,” Mattie told her. “Yes, um I understand. Sounds like Christmas or Coming Home presents, right?” Neither Mattie or Rose would answer her, knowing how good she was at getting information from both of them. 

“One more thing. I want to go shopping this afternoon for Lucien, get him some new short sleeve shirts, a couple new pairs of shorts, some additional lounge wear, a new chain for his pocket watch. And some small silly stuff for his stocking and some gifts for Santa to give to him. Get our presents for Jenny and Blake. Can I do that?” Jean asked. ‘”Yes, you can, and Joseph and I will go with you after lunch. I am certain there are several potential sitters on this floor for both Blake and Jenny. Will take advantage of a chance to get last minute gifts for the two of them,” Mattie said. “And Jean, Joseph will resupply ‘the box’ for the two of you. That gift is certainly not going to appear under the Christmas tree. We will put it in your bedroom, with a large bow on it,” Mattie said, smiling, then chuckling. “You do need more, right?” Mattie asked Jean, grinning. “Well, um, ah yes, we do. As I told you we live under a microscope on this floor, everyone knows,” Jean told her, trying not to turn red.

Laughter and constant chatter preceded the return of Joseph, Blake, Lucien, Gus, Danny and Charlie. Blake was riding on Lucien’s lap, with Joseph pushing the wheel chair. Gus, Danny and Charlie were close by. As they entered Lucien’s room, Blake spotted Mattie, she looked at him, smiled, “And just what did you do young man?” “Momma, look what Daddy did for my arm. I have one just like Dr. Gus!” Jean looked at Lucien and his little name sake, held his bandaged arm, made over him, kissed his hand, then hugged Lucien. “Blake, what did you do?” Jean asked him, smiling at him, holding his arm. “Nothing at all, Auntie Jean. Will you take it off of me? Been on long enough,” Blake told her. “I don’t know if that is possible. You need to ask Gus, don’t you think?” Jean suggested. Blake looked at her, then at Lucien, began to show some concern, “Well, Auntie Jean, what do you mean?” “Shouldn’t you keep it on as long as Gus has to? Don’t you want to be just like him?” 

Blake looked at Joseph, and then said, “No, No, I have decided – um no, I don’t like this part of it,” Blake said as he waved his arm in the air. “Can’t do anything. Uncle Lucien, please take it off.” Carol handed him some scissors, and Lucien carefully cut the bandage off. “Now young man, what have you learned this morning?” he asked him. “If I really hurt my wrist, I would not like it at all. Daddy, help me down, please.” There was not an adult in the room who was not smiling, suppressing some laughter and then marveling at Joseph and Mattie’s young son. 

About noon, Matthew and Alice, accompanied by Danny, walked into Lucien’s room. Jean walked up to them, hugged them both, “So good to see you. I missed both of you last week. Are you staying overnight?” “Yes, we are, going to share some meals with you two, talk about the new leads we have, take some things back with us, enjoy your company,” Matthew told them. 

“Lucien, how are you today? I know that Gus and Aaron have not been good patients this week, what about you?” Alice asked, smiling at him. “You mean no one has told tales on me this week? Alice, I have done pretty well. Knee is swelling some, putting some weight on it has made it act up, working in the warm water has helped. Jean has enjoyed the water as well,” Lucien told her. 

“What a difference two weeks makes, my friend,” Alice looked at him, sat on the edge of his bed, held his hand. “Yes, I know. We have been talking about that fact the last couple of days. Hugh and Jean think that I had an idea of where I needed to be so I would be discovered, got as close as I could to hospital before my knee just gave out, just two blocks away. Don’t know if I had that much sense in my head then,” Lucien told her, holding her hand, shaking his head. 

“Alice are you going to be alright with three physicians to mind, at home, with everything else you need to keep track of?” Jean asked her, genuinely concerned about her increased patient load. “Jean, I think Lucien and Aaron will be easy compared to Gus.” “Alice, go easy on Aaron today. He really made bad decisions on Friday but my goodness that young man is sharp, opened up our thinking about the notebooks, the code we were using. Did you know that James asked him to join the POW Grant team?” Lucien asked her. “Yes I did, Lucien. I think he will make a fine addition, will prove to be an asset.” 

Lucien chuckled when he started to tell Alice and Matthew about Gus. “That man is still eating crow, we are not letting him forget for one minute the misdirected decisions he made. Hugh and Paul will cast his wrist on Tuesday and he will come to Ballarat on Wednesday with him. He has decided to take three weeks off from appointments, much to everyone’s disbelief. Aaron will begin taking appointments in early February.”

James wandered into the room, greeted Alice and Matthew, and then asked to talk with Alice about Aaron. They walked to the nurse’s station and looked at his patient record, and James said, “I have prevented Aaron getting out of bed until you give him clearance. I think he needs to explain to you what happened, get familiar with your approach, since in three days he will be your charge,” James said with a grin. “James, I like that young man. I know we will get along fine. Now let me go check on him.” 

Alice walked in to Aaron’s room, found the lights dimmed, and he was sitting in bed, eating some soup, drinking some tea. “Dr. Gage, I am not going to be the bad cop, I am not going to tell you what you did wrong – I know you have that part figured out. Tell me how you feel now,” Alice told him, sitting down on the side of his bed, taking his pulse as she held his arm. “Dr. Harvey, I really messed up. I have done so little the last two weeks, got involved in too much, and really had a terrible night. But I do feel better now, not so dizzy, not going to upchuck this meal, light is not bothering me, noise level is not terrible, head does not hurt too badly,” Aaron told her. “Lucien told me you really opened up the notebooks for the group yesterday.” “Yes, I did. Oh my goodness, that was just so exciting, to be a part of helping him,” Aaron said, smiling broadly. 

“Let me check you over, and decide if you are ready to get out of bed yet,” Alice told Aaron. “Alice, I will do whatever you want me to. No arguing, I will be truthful with you. Not like Gus was with us the other evening. You know, Blake was so good with him, forced him to let us help, took charge of him, did not put up with any of his bad behavior. Blake showed all of us his skill as a physician. Good for me to see it,” Aaron explained. “Aaron, I think you can get out of bed, but no reading, no wireless, be good to yourself, and I want you to go to bed early this evening. You are not ready to get involved with all of us, yet. We have six weeks or so to build you up to that. That is my goal for you before your return to Melbourne in early February.” “Alice, thank you. I figured you would go ballistic with me.” “Don’t push your luck with me, do you understand?” “Yes ma’am, Dr. Harvey. I got it,” Aaron told her, grinning broadly, even put his hand on hers. 

Alice picked up Gus’ chart and walked into his room. She found him in bed, reading a pile of medical journals. His arm was elevated, packed in cold compresses. “Good afternoon Gus. I see you have your arm elevated like you were ordered to do. How are you feeling?” Alice asked him. “Alice, I am over my stupid behavior episode, will not give you any grief while I am in Ballarat, I promise. I think you will have your hands full with Lucien and Aaron,” Gus told her, grinning. “You know, each of you tell me the other two will be my problem children. This may prove to be an interesting couple of weeks, when all three of you are staying with us. Tell me about your pain. How are you handling the pain medications Lucien has you on?” Alice asked. “I am doing alright. Can tolerate a fair amount of pain, not sleepy or dizzy, and as the swelling goes down, I can bend my fingers a little bit. I think Paul’s treatments have made a significant difference for me. Hugh and Paul say it will be Tuesday before they put my wrist in a cast. I think it is a good idea. I know full well what I will do in a soft bandage, not let it heal properly. I need to pay up front and have a fully functional wrist at the end.” 

“I understand Lucien served you well as the physician in charge the other night. What is your opinion?” Alice asked him. “Alice, Blake continues to radiate strength and empathy, use critical thinking, and his muscle memory is intact, just like I remember. He had an IV into me before I even realized it. Would not want anyone else helping me the other night. Despite the fact I acted like an ass,” Gus said, in an apologetic tone to his voice. “What about his recall of medications you required?” “Alice, he got very upset with himself because the names were not at the tip of his tongue. Diane assisted him with specific medications, but he knew the general classes he wanted. He even argued with Hugh about one medication Hugh wanted to me to take and Lucien told him no,” Gus recalled.

Richard and Alice found Rose in the evidence room working on the two small notebooks of Hannam and Lucien. “Rose, tell us how to read the code, how they were stepping down the drugs?” Richard asked her. “Yes, I can do that. Let me find some paper to write down some examples of what they were doing. For example, let’s look at this from Hannam’s notebook on 30 June 1964.” Alice looked at the ‘30Je10, 65/-9, 14/1, 70/1’ designation, and said June is ‘Je‘ and the ‘10 ‘ is 6+4 added together, not using the 19. Interesting, clever indeed. And why in Hannam’s notebook?” “Paul figured that Hannam was giving him the drugs and was writing it down. Nowhere in Lucien’s notebook do we find this,” Rose told the two physicians. “And the ‘65/-9, 14/1, 70/1’ would be drug 65 is reduced by 10% on that day, while the other two remain at full strength?” Richard proposed, looking at Rose.

“That is what Paul and Aaron think. The next time we see a decrease is this ‘15Jy10, 65/-9, 14/-9, 70/1’ on 15 July,” Rose said. “And now drug 14 is reduced by 10%, while drug 65 remains at the 10% reduction, and drug 70 is still at full strength,” Alice suggested. “Yes, that is the thinking, Alice.” “When is drug 70 reduced, Rose?” Richard asked. “Here, Richard look at this notation: ‘4At10 65/-9, 14/-9, 70/-9’” “Yes, I see, so about every two weeks, they make a change. What is the last entry look like, Rose?” Richard asked.

“Here, Richard and Alice, ‘2D10 65/-6, 14/-6, 70/-7.’” “So just two days before Lucien ended up here in hospital, they decreased the drugs again, Hannam was sick with malaria, but still functioning,” Richard said. Alice looked at Rose, “And Aaron was a part of this discovery.” “Yes, Alice, he was. He was so excited and happy to help Lucien, and then he was so, so sick Friday night. We all felt sorry for him. He could not enjoy what he had accomplished,” Rose told them. “Thank you Rose for telling us how to decipher the notebook. Richard and I want to discuss Lucien’s condition and my transition to his treatment plan, so we will ask you to leave the room, if that is alright,” Alice told her. “Yes of course, not a problem at all.”

Richard and Alice discussed Lucien’s return to Ballarat, their expectations for him, how to help him acclimate to living in the house. Richard talked about his lack of recall of so much that he did during his absence, what happened to him, how he interacted with the mystery man and Hannam – the list seemed endless. “I think at this point in time, we support him, keep him calm, and when the occasional breakthrough happens, help him put the new information into perspective. Jean will be so good with this, but we can’t rely on her all of the time. I think Matthew will be most helpful as well. The Melbourne 4 will be in and out. We will all keep in close contact,” Richard proposed. 

“All good ideas, Richard. I think on occasion he will want to be in the surgery and in group sessions and I am going to encourage him to do both. I want him outside getting fresh air, sunshine, eating healthy food, staying away from the scotch, want to set a regular schedule for him, like you have him on here. Afternoon naps, journal writing time as well. While Aaron is with us, need to keep the noise down, for his sake. Well, I think that is all I have considered at this point,” Alice explained, smiling at Richard. 

“I knew we would be on the same page Alice. On a different topic, is the shower finished yet?” “Richard, the fellows were most happy we were all going to be away this weekend. They intend to finish the tile work, start the painting. The ladies are going to clean the house. Three Christmas trees are reserved for us, food ordered. I never imagined I would be looking forward to such chaos at the house. Living with Jean, Rose and of course Matthew, has opened my eyes to what ‘family’ is all about. I am a different person because of the Blake family ethos,” Alice told her friend. “Alice, I know we all feel the same way,” Richard said, as he grinned at her. 

Gus and Little Blake was spent Saturday afternoon in the lounge, playing with the erector set, doing jigsaw puzzles. When Carol checked on them, she found both of them asleep on the larger bed, Blake had a book open as if he had read them both to sleep, which he undoubtedly did. Aaron was still in his room, was holding and talking to Jenny, looked up to smile at Carol. “Doing alright Dr. Gage?” “Yes, I am. Could we have some juice, something easy for Jenny to drink out of?” “Of course, will be right back.”

Saturday afternoon for Matthew, Lucien, Danny, Bill and Charlie was spent in the evidence room. Bill began, “Let me tell you about our trip to the hotel. The Mystery Man had a key to a room, and when we showed the key to the desk clerk, he was very helpful. Identified the picture we have of him. Said he had quite a nasty disposition, very glad when he disappeared two weeks ago. Freely told us he registered as Mick Young. Rented it from November 21 until December 31. So we went to the room, and found it bare. No gear, no clothing, nothing – looked like no one had been there. We need to go back with a forensics team and go through it with a fine tooth comb, look under the bed, pull the carpet, look for areas he might have hidden something. That will happen tonight. Danny and Charlie will be there to oversee it.”

Charlie picked up the story at that point, “The location of the hotel is quite a distance from where you and Hannam were sleeping. Certainly a whole lot better than the nasty, dirty room you two were in. We have never found anyone sleeping rough in that area around the hotel. And as a matter of fact, the hotel clerk did not recognize you or Hannam from the pictures we had with us. Do you remember if you talked to the mystery man since you arrived in Melbourne, Lucien?” Charlie asked. “Of course not, Charlie,” Lucien told them, looking at the floor, shaking his head. “Will I ever tell you lot that I DO remember when something happened? What a bloody mess!” 

Matthew said in a loud voice, “Blake, Blake, look at me, right now, do you hear me? That behavior is not allowed, no, don’t go there. You will remember these events when you remember them. We will get by without you telling us a damn thing. Right now, you are _not_ the smartest man in the room. I hope one day very soon, you will recall some of the events that happened. But, my good friend, we move forward whether you remember or not. Understood?” “Yes, Matthew, I understand. I am not going down in to that hole, I am not. Thank you for reminding me, helping me.” 

“Major, let’s take a walk. Danny, help him up, Charlie get his crutches, and you four coppers can keep talking. I will take the Major on a walk and we will talk about what just happened,” Richard told Lucien, who had a very confused look on his face. “Where did you come from, Richard?” “I happened to be in the hall and overheard your attempted meltdown. I heard Matthew stop your descent into the hole that you want so desperately to crawl into. The two of us are going to talk, as long as it takes to unpack this behavior. Let’s go Major Blake,” Richard told his friend, looking at him. “Thank you Richard. I need this time with you.” 

Joseph, Jean and Mattie returned from their shopping trip and did not have one package with them. Lucien, who was walking laps in the hall with Richard, talking with him, watched them enter the POW suite and looked at the three of them, a very puzzled look developing on his face. “Jean, where are your packages? You went shopping two hours ago didn’t you? Did you buy any thing for me?” They could all see a look of disappointment spreading on his face. 

“Well, Jean, look at me, tell me that you got me something, please? I have not been shopping with you for so long. I do remember how pleasant that was, always got something for each other, shared some tea, good conversation. And you know I just remembered our first trip to Melbourne, we went to a men’s store to get me a dressing gown, then to get us both some toothpaste and a toothbrush, went out for Italian and then to the theatre to see _As You Like It_. You told me the story of my father hiring you to be his housekeeper, receptionist. You were there when I came back to Ballarat. I loved you the first time I saw you, but I nearly drove you mad with my obnoxious behavior,” Lucien finished, with tears in his eyes, reaching for Jean’s hand. 

“Lucien, I remember your first few days in the house as well,” Mattie told him, grinning at him and then Jean. “Um Mattie, I know I was a mess, a drunk, hurt my leg, fell out of bed, would not help you, Jean or Danny with my Father’s care. Somehow you all made me realize the um, the yes family that was waiting for me, if I would just open my eyes, my heart. Jean was and still is the matriarch of the Blake household,” Lucien said to the group, smiling at Jean. 

“Lucien Blake, I still will not tell you what, if anything, I purchased for you this afternoon. Even if you are telling me you love me,” Jean said, raised eyebrow, green eyes twinkling with mischief. She reached for his face to kiss him, and he kissed her passionately in return. Joseph and Richard steadied him as he wobbled to and fro on his crutches. “Where are the presents you got me?” Lucien asked again, eyebrows moving up and down. “I have a special hiding place, and you will not get the location out of me,” Jean told him. “Well, yes then I will start to work on Mattie! She will spill the beans. I know it,” Lucien said, chuckling, grinning at Mattie and Joseph.


	39. Packing

Ch. 39 Packing 

As Jean, Mattie and Joseph walked into the POW Suite and interacted with Lucien and Richard, Jean knew, despite the levity, that something had happened with Lucien. Richard had a look of concern – just like he did before when Lucien tried to crawl into his ‘hole’ to shut down. She looked at Richard, and he shook his head slightly, so Jean mouthed ‘Later’ to him and he nodded in agreement. Jean knew these episodes were going to happen and here in hospital, there was someone to help grab him and help sidetrack this self-destructive impulse. 

At home, who will help Lucien? Well, I will, of course. Then yes Matthew, he could be loud, bossy when he needed to be, could be the ‘bad’ cop if he needed to become that person. Alice, yes certainly, she could make his life difficult if required. Don’t know why I am afraid of having no help. I have it – and yes, my goodness, Bill Hobart, now he and Lucien went at it pretty good when Lucien first returned to Ballarat, yes he could help me as well. Lucien is doing this when he can’t remember what happened, and there were so many craters, holes, pits that he can fall into. Jean Blake, you must take this day to day. The Blake family can do this, yes we can.

Lucien looked at Jean, saw her talking to herself, eyes squinting at times, chewing on her lower lip. She is upset, needs to talk. “Jean, love, what is wrong? What happened?” “Um Lucien, I am fine. Don’t know why you think that,” Jean told him quickly, all too quickly. She is lying to me, I know her, know when she is ‘fine,’ she really isn’t. Discovered that fact very early upon my return to Ballarat. “Jean, let me try this again, what is wrong?” Jean tried to turn away from him, but he caught her arm, she knew if she kept walking away, she could make him lose his balance, so she stopped. She turned around, took one look at him, his blue eyes staring into her, boring holes into her psyche, and the tears started to collect in her eyes. “Come here, right now. You need to be held. What happened?” he asked her tenderly, quietly. 

Richard saw what was developing, sat down next to them. “Let’s talk, now, you two. Lucien, Jean has figured out something happened this afternoon. Now, I am not going to tell her, you are. Major. So begin.” Lucien looked at Richard, took a deep breath, made Jean look at him and he began to tell her. As he finished relating the episode, how Matthew and Richard had helped him, he told her, “Jean, I know this must frighten you. I am letting my frustration at not remembering drive me away from my family, from you. I know there are people to help me. I must ask for help, to talk, to remind me that I am slowly going to recall incidents, episodes, that I cannot push my recovery, I cannot make it better by myself. I will need help. Jean, I love you so much. I can’t stand to see you so upset. It just reminds me of what I did to you, to us.” 

In listening to Lucien, she could hear Richard’s voice. He undoubtedly told Lucien these facts, gave him the strategies, gave him permission to ask for assistance. If he would just process what Richard told him. Stop himself from staring at the floor, starting to crawl into the hole. I first watched him do this when James Cornelius’ name was mentioned, just before we made our trip to Melbourne, to stay in the beach cabin. I finally got him to talk to me, we stayed up so late unpacking his camp experiences. He has done this a couple of other times since we were wed. And now here in hospital, once again, just this afternoon. Jean, took a deep breath, then told him, “I am not going anywhere Lucien Blake. I am staying in the Blake house, living with you, loving you, helping you, but you are going to have to help me as well. Please, don’t be so hard on yourself. Do you understand, my love?” Jean asked him. 

“Yes, I hear you Jean. I heard Richard and Matthew this afternoon. I will remember what happened – whenever, where ever. I cannot force the memories. No I can’t. Must ask for help, realize that I have so many people to talk with. Make me um” Lucien was interrupted with the entrance of Gus and Aaron. “Blake, we overheard what is going on with you this afternoon. Listen to Richard, Matthew and Jean. They all have one goal in mind, you feeling better. Being aware of what you are doing to yourself. I hope you realize that we will help as well,” Gus told him. “Yes, um well, I did it again, Gus, just like last week. But, Blake, you stopped crawling into that Bloody hole, right?” “Yes I did, Gus.” Lucien told him, wiping some tears from his eyes. “And Jean, we will be in Ballarat with you, to help you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to either one of us,” Aaron told her, reaching for her hand to hold. “Thank you both, for coming home with us, for caring, for your support,” Jean said, through the tears. Lucien reached for her, to hold, to kiss, to wipe her tears. 

After Richard marched Lucien and Jean into a room to talk with them, Rose and Mattie moved into a small room, put a ‘Do Not Disturb Christmas Planning’ sign on the door, closed it. Rose began, “We need to think about Christmas eve. The ladies are wanting to know about food, what kind, how much, so they can bake biscuits and cakes and make lollies ahead of time for us. Also I am going to talk to Cec about a Santa visit. Trees are to be delivered on Wednesday and I will look at the decorations we have, maybe buy some more.” “Rose, I can bring some decorations from our house. We have a small tree this year, lots of leftover decorations. Once the trees are in the house and decorated, let me know if you need some more. We will be at the house by noon on Thursday and can bring them with us.” 

Alice and Matthew joined Jean and Lucien for dinner. The conversation was centered on the upcoming return to Ballarat. Matthew told Alice about Lucien’s episode that afternoon, and she looked at him, lifted an eyebrow, and then said, “Lucien, tell me more. Remember, your approach to medicine – no arguing, being truthful. I have adopted it. So, with those parameters, begin.” “When I can’t remember what happened, I get very anxious, mad at myself for not being able to negotiate the craters, the holes that are there, in my brain, in my memory. Get so bloody frustrated. Start shutting down, shutting all of you out.” “And, Lucien, you do realize that this will continue for months, correct?” “Alice, I understand that. But to live it, is something else,” Lucien told her, starting to look at the floor, and then on his own, pulled his head up, looked at all of them, breaking into a smile. 

“Blake, on another matter, Hannam. I have the money from Charlie and Danny to pay for everything. I put a hold on his plot, there is a standard headstone in this part of the cemetery, you have four lines to work with. And his remains arrive on Thursday and I will store them at the station. I thought we would inter him after the stone is cut,” Matthew explained. “Yes, Matthew, the headstone, let’s see, I was thinking, ‘Sgt. Robert Hallam, 26054, 1919-1964, World War II veteran’ um, well, I know that avoids so much, but I think that is adequate,” Blake told the group. 

“So Lucien, you are not going to put on the headstone that he threatened us both in your father’s surgery, he tried to choke you and me, he was in our house with a gun, he killed two people that I know about, was part of the team who abducted you, was the person who gave you the drugs, but he was also the man who protected you, hid you in Melbourne, and he went to his grave with many of the answers we don’t even have questions for yet,” Jean said, looking at Lucien, shaking her head. “Lucien, if I could talk to him now, I don’t know whether to attack him, thank him for helping you, or what. That is how conflicted I am with that man.” “Jeannie, yes he was complicated, and among other things, he was a murderer, a kidnapper, but I know I would not be here with you right now, if he had not put me on a ship bound for Australia, and protected me once we were in Melbourne.” 

Jean smiled at Matthew and Alice, took in a very deep breath and said, “We have a question for the two of you. Um, yes, on a very happy note, ah, well, Lucien and I want to ask you two a very important question. Will you both serve as the MCs for our Renewal ceremony, Christmas day at noon, our backyard? You will need to try and corral everyone for us, help us get through the vows, exchange the new rings, wipe my tears, um-” “And mine. And Matthew, you will have to help me with my new vows. I just can’t figure out beyond, ‘I love you so much Jean Blake’ and I know that I should say at least one more sentence, don’t you think?” Lucien finished, with a silly grin, looking at Jean. 

“Blake, of course I will. Alice, will you help me?” Matthew smiled at Alice, reached for her hand, kissed it. “Please love.” “You know, when Lucien and Jean were wed, we bolted out of the reception, missed what that was all about. I can’t remember much about our reception, I was just so amazed that we were married. Is there an order of events?” Alice asked. “Alice, I think we just make it up as we go. We just want everyone to be happy, laughing, having fun,” Jean told her. “Yes, Jean and Lucien, I will help Matthew. Do you need help with your new vows as well? Perhaps we ask Rose and Mattie?” Alice said, smiling at her good friend, pleased that she was asked, even though it made her a bit uncomfortable already. 

Rose saw Richard and Gus walking towards the room that she shared with Matthew and Alice. “Would you tell Uncle Matthew that I am going to work on the notebooks again? Will stay out of your way, as it seems a meeting is about to commence,” Rose told them. Richard and Gus joined Matthew and Alice to continue the conversation about Lucien’s behavior that afternoon. The main item was how to help not only Lucien but Jean as well. Each person offered ideas of how to assist him, especially when he wanted to remember an event but could not. They thought the transfer to Ballarat would be challenging, but there were going to be several Blake family to derail his inclinations. After the new year, that could prove even more challenging, as the POW team would for the most part be in Melbourne. Time would tell. 

“Alice and I will be the MCs of the ‘Renewal Ceremony.’ I have an idea. I know Jean, and I assume Lucien, will be quite tearful at times. I don’t think one of his handkerchiefs will be sufficient for the two of them. So, Richard and I have ordered two dozen white handkerchiefs with the name ‘BLAKE’ embroidered on them. I will pick them up on Wednesday afternoon in Ballarat. Distribute them just before the ceremony. Hopefully, that will lighten up the ‘Do.’ And it is a secret, so no letting on about this.”

When Rose left the room, she walked to the evidence room and began studying the small notebooks. She found ‘21N10’ and started to read, take notes of what happened. Hannam and Lucien were in Melbourne, and she was interested in what he recorded. Then she was going to go through Hannam’s notebook. She had a sheet of paper divided in half and was going to list key points from each of their notebooks. Initially, Lucien simply recorded his trip to Paul’s shop, the bank, the blue cracking paint location, how nasty that was, hospital entrance, Jean’s Toys. Did not mention meeting up with the mystery man. But on ‘30N10’ there was a strange notation. ‘Paul. Bank. BG. Hotel. Stole passport, key, pistol. Hide.’ Well, look at that. Need to check out Hannam’s notebook for that date and see if he wrote any notes. 

Richard walked in to the room, put an arm on Rose’s shoulders, “What are you doing, young lady?” Looking up at Richard, Rose smiled at him, “Let me show you.” Rose sketched out her new findings, pointing out what she found in Lucien’s notebook. Pulled out the Hannam notebook and they looked at it together. There was nothing recorded that corroborated Lucien’s notation ‘Paul. Bank. BG. Hotel. Stole passport, key, pistol. Hide.’ “So, was Lucien by himself? Hannam not feeling well? Still does not tell us where he ran into the mystery man. Did he just steal a ruck sack or bag? He had to recognize him, don’t you think, Richard?” Rose asked. “Well, Rose, I know we need to tell Matthew, and then let him grind on your questions. Maybe there will be some evidence from the hotel room that might help with this,” Richard told her. “Good work, Rose. Will make your Uncle Matthew proud.”

“I have some more questions, Richard. Don’t want to ask Lucien at this point in time. Was that man watching him on the street? I don’t think he knew where they were staying or he would have made quick work of both of them – Lucien was dehydrated, injured and Hannam was so sick with malaria. Do you think he was going to kill Lucien right there in front of ‘Jean’s Toys’ or did he figure he was so ill, time would take care of him? How did that man know Lucien was in James’ A&E treatment room? Got so many complicated questions right now.” “Rose, I wrote all of them down for us. You, my young friend, are on a roll this evening. Gives me hope we will help bust this open for the Major,” Richard told her.

Jean and Lucien walked to their small bedroom, ready to have some quiet time, just the two of them. They told Diane as they walked by her desk, and she said, “I will be in at nine with pain medication for you, Lucien, and check your blood pressure. James should have the report on your skull x-ray and drug levels on Monday morning. Jean do you require anything this evening?” Diane asked. “Nothing for me. Thank you for taking such good care of the two of us,” Jean told her. “I am really going to miss the two of you. I hope you realize that,” Diane told them. “But you won’t miss me acting the fool in the morning, will you?” Lucien told her, grinning. “No, I will not miss that Dr. Blake. Push the call button if you need anything.”

They were very quickly into bed, holding each other, beginning to unpack the day, when Lucien fell asleep in Jean’s arms. Jean looked at him, kissed his cheek, and then began to think. These episodes, not remembering, over reacting, just wear him down. He wants to be the strong physician, the one in control, the smartest person in the room, and his psyche really takes a hit when he knows he is not any of those, at least right now. In trying to hide all of this, he expends a great deal of energy, and he does not have a lot of excess energy right now to waste, on hiding behind a screen of ‘use to be’ thoughts. Tonight, he stopped himself from doing it once again. And he is out like a light. He will probably not be awake at 9 for his medication. That will be Diane’s problem to deal with. Jean kissed him again. She told him, very quietly, “Lucien Radcliffe Blake, I love you, every piece of you, I want you to get better each and every day, for me, for the Blake family, do you hear me? Good night, my love.” 

Sunday morning, Bill, Danny and Charlie were knee deep in the evidence room working on a system to organize, protect, and transport the evidence they had acquired since Lucien Blake was found. Bill suggested that they take it back to Ballarat and store it there. Charlie agreed but then posed a series of difficult questions, “Where do you suggest? I don’t think the Blake house is safe. Would be the first place I would look if I was wanting to destroy it. Police station would be another logical place to find the evidence and take it. What do you have in mind?” “Well I am thinking about a bank vault … but where, Ballarat? Will ask Matthew about that idea. I have not figured out the details, yet. Do you have any ideas?” Bill asked. Nothing was forthcoming from either Danny or Charlie. “When is the transfer going to occur? Who will be involved?” Bill asked. “I was thinking on Wednesday, when Hugh and Gus need a ride to Ballarat. I assume you will bring Richard back on Wednesday morning. We will use an ambo, put one of us, either Danny or me, in the back with the gear and the other three in the front. That should give you time to find your ‘vault,’” Charlie said.

Danny said, “One thing I know we must do today is to transcribe the two blackboards. I think Jean and Rose are going to work on it this morning. Carol has found sheets of paper and some tape to make their transcription fit the boards in Ballarat. They may find some more clues that have fallen by the wayside for some reason. Just look at how much is on each board.” 

Lucien, Gus and Aaron spent the morning in the Physician’s Lounge chatting, talking ‘medical’ shop. For Lucien, this was the first time since he was abducted that he was able to share medical approaches and concerns with a group of physicians. While he was with Hannam and the Mystery Man, they were doing undercover intelligence, surveillance, and his medical skills were often not required. “Gus and Aaron, I hope, one day in the near future, to be able to see patients in my surgery, be a GP again, just a country doctor. Have no idea if I will ever be able to be part of the POW team again. Being included on the three papers was serendipity – James, Richard, Hugh and Jean’s doings. Don’t really know if I deserved the publication credit.” 

“Do you boys need the tea kettle on? Some biscuits?” Carol looked into the lounge and asked them. “Yes to both,” Gus answered. “Nice idea, thank you very much,” Aaron told her. “Blake, you need to give yourself time to heal, recover, relax. You have been away for over two years and only back in hospital, under care, for a couple of weeks. Your progress is remarkable, but we all know there will be days that you will feel very good and days when you will struggle. Don’t push yourself. And that goes for you as well Aaron. You have both had serious skull fractures, and I am still amazed that the two of you are recovering from an attempt on your life that just missed by millimeters,” Gus told both of them. 

Sunday afternoon, Danny and Charlie went to Aaron’s apartment to get him a couple pair of trousers, white shirts, a belt, a tie, a sport coat, dress shoes. He had a good supply of leisure clothing from his stay in hospital and indeed some of it was already in Ballarat. They picked up his mail, watered his plants, and secured his apartment. Once they delivered his gear, Aaron packed it in his suitcase. Alice walked into his room, smiled at him, “Dr. Gage, how are you this afternoon? We are going to return to Ballarat soon and I wanted to be certain you were doing alright.” “Alice, I am just dealing with my headache, no new complaints Amazing when I do not overdo it, how much better I feel,” Aaron told her, grinning. “Yes, I would think so as well. Do you want us to take your dress clothing to Ballarat with us? We have room in the boot.” 

“Alice, excellent idea. I have a couple changes of clothing here and that will make the transfer on Tuesday easier for everyone. A question for you – I um kind of nervous about um,” Aaron stopped, trying to figure out what he wanted to ask. “Aaron, don’t be nervous about this move to Ballarat. You will fit into our ‘family’ very well. We are all looking forward to your stay at the Blake house. I think the only thing I can foresee an argument over is the single lounge in the back yard. We may need to get another one, so there is no bickering over who has it first or put a time limit on it!” Alice told him, smiling, thinking about all of the times Matthew whined about James or Hugh in ‘his’ lounge. And in reality, it was Lucien’s.

“What if I bought a second one? Perhaps a third one? Could someone do that ahead of time for me? A Blake house Christmas gift or a Coming Home present? What do you think?” Aaron said with an infectious grin developing. “Dr. Gage, consider it done. I will even put bows on the two new lounges,” Alice told him. She looked at the young doctor, and thought, Aaron is going to be a good addition to the Blake family, will help us with Lucien, and will be another POW grant team member to talk shop with for the next six weeks, in the sunroom, after dinner. 

Danny and Bill gathered the suitcases from the POW Suite, placed them on a cart supplied by Carol, and rolled everything to the car, packed it in the boot. Charlie walked with Joseph to his office and gathered some of their presents for the kids as well as Jean’s gifts for Jenny, Blake and Lucien and carried them to the car as well. There was still some room in the car for Matthew, Alice, Rose and Bill for the trip back to Ballarat. “Where are we going to hide these presents?” Matthew asked, shaking his head at the large number of gifts. “Well, I think the safest place is our bedroom closet. I can’t imagine Big Blake or Little Blake coming into our room, can you?” Alice asked. “Does Lucien know you refer to him as ‘Big Blake?’” Rose asked. “No, and don’t you dare tell him.” “No, we will just let you make a slip of the tongue, Alice. This will be very interesting,” Matthew told her, laughing.

“And we have another purchase to make tomorrow. Aaron wants to buy two lounges for the backyard for everyone to use, enjoy, take a nap in. Bill, I thought you might know where we should go shopping. Can you help?” “Yes, Dr. Harvey. I have a couple ideas and will go in the morning, if Boss will let me start an hour later than usual,” Bill said, thinking that Aaron had a very good idea. Everyone enjoyed Lucien’s lounge, and it was really quite funny to see Matthew give the ‘look’ to Hugh and James if they were occupying his lounge. “Yes, Bill, assuming nothing has happened over the weekend, go first thing and either bring them home or have them delivered,” Matthew said.

After the Ballarat crew left for home, Lucien began to write in his journal. Jean was in the room, reading the Sunday newspaper, getting a bit sleepy as well, closed her eyes. She began thinking about what they still needed to pack for the trip back home, wanted to be certain they left nothing behind. She thought with Lucien’s wheelchair, crutches, braces, they would probably need two vehicles. I know that Matthew, Bill and Danny were already thinking along those lines as well. We are going home, back to our house, our bedroom, our space, except it is very different now. Lucien will have to adjust to so many people in and out. The number has grown from the two of us and Matthew to a crowd at times. But I would never have survived without all of their help. And just think about Matthew and Alice deciding to be married and staying with me. Who would have thought. They are such good friends of mine. And Matthew has missed talking with Lucien, the arguments, the empty Scotch bottles, the blackboard discussions – their friendship was so important to both of them, and me as well. 

Lucien said very loudly, “Jean, Jean, are you here? I am done writing. Let’s go get in the water, relax before Paul shows up to help me exercise. Will you come with me?” “Certainly, that sounds like an excellent idea. Let me change into my suit, get your trunks, some towels, and help you take the brace off,” Jean told him, looking at Lucien, smiling at him. As they walked by the desk, they asked Carol to accompany them to the room, and help Lucien get into the tank. Once they entered the room, they realized they had company – Aaron and Gus were already in the water. Gus had his injured wrist covered in plastic, held out of the water, and Aaron was talking about his upcoming trip to Ballarat. Gus was telling him about Jean’s Place, how delightful the cabin was, all of the additional work that was completed while Lucien was away. “Jean and Lucien, join us. Very nice water this afternoon, pleasant conversation, and just plain relaxing,” Gus told them. “Lucien, my wrist is feeling better today.” “Excellent news, Gus.”

Aaron asked Lucien, “What can you tell me about Jean’s Place?” “Yes, I can tell you part of it, I think. My father bought it when I was a boy. Had a very primitive cabin constructed on a high point of ground. My mother did not appreciate it – with a dunny, all kinds of vermin, insects, a well for water, no shower, dusty. I was surprised when I returned that it was still owned by my father. I asked Danny to help me repair it, paint it, and then Mattie joined us, finally Matthew, Bill, and Ned pitched in. As I understand it now, additional work has been completed – shower added to the outside of the cabin, loo inside the cabin, different furniture. Jean, what have I forgotten?” 

“Let me think. Lucien had all of the initial work completed and would not tell me what he was doing. Surprised me with it, named it for me, and now the entire Blake family enjoys the chance to get away. Only about 20 minutes from our house. We have it set to sleep 8-10 people at one time,” Jean told Aaron, smiling just thinking about the chance to escape to the cabin in the near future. “And who is Ned? Is he a police officer? Have I met him yet?” Aaron asked. “No, Aaron. Ned was a police officer in Ballarat, was killed in the line of duty. Fine young man,” Lucien told him, shaking his head back and forth. “Blake, I did not know that. I know what a close knit group of fellows are on the Police Force,” Gus said. “Aaron, you will find many of the officers in and out of our house on a daily basis,” Jean told him.

About 20 minutes later, Paul walked into the room, changed into his trunks and got into the water. “Good Afternoon to the four of you. Who do I start with first?” “I am first, Paul,” Aaron told him. Aaron was able to complete most of his exercises but Paul found a couple of areas to work with on his neck and shoulders, and Aaron thanked him. “Much better Paul. Thank you.” “Lucien and Gus, look at his neck. Bruising is decreasing don’t you think?” Paul asked. Lucien looked at his Aaron’s neck, felt it, had him turn his head, and said, “Much better than the day Gus discovered how deep the injury was to your neck. What about the headache?” “Still there. Lucien, what about yours?” Aaron asked. “Low level aggravation, but not that bothersome.”

“Blake, you are next. Let’s see what you can do.” Lucien was working his way through his exercise set and reached #12. Much to his surprise he worked his way through them without stopping. Gus looked at Paul and the two of them said, “Blake, do you realize what you just did?” “I do, gentlemen, I do. That was pain free as well. My goodness. I am making some real progress,” Lucien said, as he reached for Jean, to kiss her. 

Paul stayed and shared dinner with the group and the conversation revolved around packing, getting organized for the Tuesday trip to Ballarat for Jean, Lucien, and Aaron, putting the cast on Gus’ wrist on Tuesday morning. Danny and Charlie joined them later to talk about their trip to the hotel. “Doc, I can tell you now that you were in the hotel room on the 30th of November. Rose discovered a notation in your notebook that told us this: ‘Paul. Bank. BG. Hotel. Stole passport, key, pistol. Hide.’ When we went to the hotel, it looked like no one had been there. Very clean, no valuables, no gear. But as we started lifting up the furniture, looking behind it, looking behind drawers, working through the bath, top of the closet, behind the door, we found these three things,” Danny explained. 

Then Charlie handed Lucien three small pieces of paper, like they found in the Ute and in Henderson’s shack. All three had the date, his initials LRB, and one of them looked like it was from Paul’s shop. “So, um, I was there. Maybe I broke into the room, you know I can do that pretty quickly. Or maybe I stole the key before I went to his room?” Lucien said with a grin. “His gear had to be there for me to take the pistol, passport, but the key? Now why would he have left the key in the room and not be there himself? Strange. I don’t think I ever saw him around where Hannam and I were staying. So he did not follow me, at least that day.”

“Danny, is the mystery man still locked up?” Lucien asked. “Yes, he is, and he is charged with the attempt on Aaron’s life, waiting on Dr. Harvey’s analysis of the skeleton outside of Ballarat, among other things. And one more update, when we went back to the hotel, Matthew suggested we take a picture of the woman who left the bank so quickly. That was the day we were retrieving items from your bank box. The desk clerk told us that she had a room there as well, had not been back in over a week. We are getting the paperwork organized to get into room. She is still in jail as well.” 

Jean and Lucien were lying in bed, talking, holding each other, when Lucien, got very serious, and asked her some questions. “Jeannie, how did I know where the mystery man was staying? Where did I run into him here in Melbourne? Do you think Hannam helped me get into the room? You know early in my hospital stay, I was so hungry, I don’t think I went out to get any food or water because I could be spotted by that man. I was very dehydrated, not thinking clearly. I know, when the owner of Jean’s Toys looked at me, and it was not you, I was so disappointed. Don’t know why I thought you would have a shop here in Melbourne. That was a strange idea, wasn’t it? That last night, by myself, injured knee, I struggled to get to Jean’s Toys. I must have thought I would be close to you. I kept leaving crumbs, hoping someone would find them, find me, and then know I was still alive. I did not know how to get home. Jeannie I did not.”

“Lucien, let’s try to let this go for tonight. We won’t be able to figure it out right now. But you are right, James had you on IVs for several days, and you ate anything Carol and Diane put in front of you. You are still eating an extra plate of food. I think you were not getting enough food for weeks, maybe longer. We will have to watch you at home, easy on the biscuits and cake,” Jean told him, smiling, kissing his neck. “I fell asleep last night pretty quickly, didn’t I? Just being with you relaxes me, not anxious. I love you, Jean Blake. I want you to know that, love,” Lucien told her, kissing her on the neck, then the cheek and then her mouth, as his hand wandered towards her curls. “Lucien, you are such a tease. You know as soon as we get serious about this, Diane will come in or perhaps Richard,” Jean told him. “Wanna bet?” “Yes, I do. What are we betting with, Lucien?” “Well, what about - “ 

Before they could decide, the door opened and Richard walked in. “Thought I would do one more check on you Major. Anything I should know about?” “No, Richard, we are just talking, doing fine,” Lucien told him, grinning. As he left, Richard looked back over his shoulder, and they were both grinning, saying ‘I told you so’ and laughing. I have a feeling I interrupted something. Maybe in Ballarat they will have some privacy. On second thought, we may have to get them to the cabin for an overnight stay.

James checked on Lucien, Aaron, and Gus on Monday morning. They were all in Lucien’s room eating breakfast when James walked in. He had all three charts and asked, “Can we do this all together or do you want some privacy with me?” The three looked at each other, and then at James. “Just do it James. We are all good friends. We talk about this all day anyway, second guessing all of you,” Gus said. Aaron and Lucien, “Your skull films are showing continued healing. Aaron, let me do a neurological check.” “Better, but not where we want it yet. You need more time to let your skull heal. Don’t overdo it at the Blake house, understood?” James asked him. “Yes, I do. Alice has read me the riot act already. I will behave myself,” Aaron told him. 

“Blake, your drug levels keep decreasing, still in the 30-35% of value on admission on the 4th of December. Blood pressure is still problematic. I will let Alice figure that out when you are in Ballarat. Gus, wrist swelling looks much reduced. You are on a minimal dose of pain medication. Is that enough?” “James, what I am on is fine. At least, I am not foggy, dizzy. Ready for the cast so I can join everyone at the Blake house,” Gus told him, smiling. 

“Jean, anything you require? What about a refill on your neck meds?” “James, yes, that is a good idea.” “Alright, I am off with Charlie for my hours in Ballarat. I will be back in the morning. Gus, Diane and I will accompany you to your place Tuesday evening to get your clothing and whatever for your stay with Jean and Lucien. So think on that. Hugh or Richard will be on call today if you need help. See you all later.” 

Monday afternoon, Madge from the jewelry shop delivered the final items in Lucien’s order. Carol added the new pieces to the box of gifts that were delivered previously. Everything was grouped into type of gift, each one was nicely wrapped, and just needed names added to the tag on each package. When Jean was in another room, Carol asked Lucien if he needed help sorting them out, adding names. “Carol that would be marvelous. Find us a room where we will not be interrupted. Thank you for helping me. I have our rings with me. Let’s put them in the box as well. Don’t want to forget them, do I?” 

Paul’s last aquatic therapy session for Aaron and Lucien was more like a conversation with friends. Both did extremely well, were relaxed doing their exercises, and very talkative. Gus was in good spirits, involved but not trying to control what Paul was doing. When he was finished with Aaron and Lucien, Paul treated Gus’ wrist. “Gus, we were correct to wait until now to put the cast on the wrist. Swelling is down to a very manageable level now. Hugh will be with us in the morning. You know I do not have privileges in hospital right?” Gus looked at him and said, “But you should, my friend.”

When Richard returned to the floor, he walked to Carol’s desk and asked where Jean and Lucien were. He had looked in the normal places without any success. “Did you try the Physician’s Lounge? That’s where they were the last time I checked,” Carol told him. “Of course, the only place I did not think about.” As Richard walked into the lounge, he found Jean and Lucien listening to an eclectic set of instrumental music for Christmas. Someone had left a LP in the room, some of it traditional, some with a touch of blues, some with a bit of rock n’ roll. Lucien was humming along, Jean was singing the words. 

“Good Afternoon, my friends. I like the music choice. Can we chat a bit before dinner?” Richard asked. “Of course, tomorrow is our big day, going home together for the first time in over two years, the house will be different, remodeled in places, Alice and Rose living there now, the Melbourne contingent has bedrooms, Joseph and Mattie’s Jenny is a new addition and Blake is two years older, lot to process, for me. And I know Jean is troubled about me being home – hope I don’t pull the crazy morning starts I did here,” Lucien said. 

“That’s the reason for our meeting. Many situations to think about, have some strategies in place before that behavior shows up. Matthew, Alice, Gus and I talked about this on Saturday evening. It is on their mind as well. So let me sketch out what I want to discuss, and then Jean, I want you to add your concerns,” Richard told them, smiling at both Lucien and Jean. After nearly an hour of conversation, the three of them seemed to be pleased with what they had developed. Lucien stood up, shook Richard’s hand and told him, “Richard, could not ask for more thoughtful care, my friend. Thank you.” Jean walked up to Richard, buried her face in his chest, “As always, thank you. You made me believe all those months ago – Lucien and I would be together again. You were right,” Jean told him, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“Look what I have for dinner this evening!” Diane walked in with two bottles of red wine for Aaron, Lucien and Jean’s final dinner in hospital. She came in an hour early so that both she and Carol could be share a meal with the group. Richard and Gus were laughing about Gus being left behind Tuesday morning. Gus was showing Richard his wrist, and pointing out the fact the swelling was going down much quicker than he anticipated. “Richard, I will be on my way on Wednesday – coming with Hugh to Ballarat. Blake, can you behave for one day without me?” Gus said, laughing. “Yes, I will behave myself. If I don’t, Matthew will kick me in the arse, even with his bad leg.”

Jean and Lucien spent part of the evening packing clothing, his journal, her knitting, grant materials, two boxes of the special sugary nutty treats they both liked. Carol had returned the box of Lucien’s gifts to the room, heavily taped up. With his wheelchair, crutches, extra brace, their suitcases, Jean understood the reason for two vehicles. And yes, Aaron and his gear, all of the medical records, medications. Richard was coming with us as well. Jean thought it is good that Carol and Diane are getting everyone organized.

“Jean, my love, should we walk to our room?” As they were walking down the hallsay, they began chatting, Jean asked, “Who do you think will provide the interruption tonight? They seem to have their timing down pretty well. And then you Lucien Blake fall asleep.” Jean said, teasing him with her eyebrows. “Jeannie, I know I am doing that. I can explain, I can. You see, my love, it is like the first day or two in hospital. No longer did I have to hide, find food, not frightened and I slept until awakening to horrors dancing around in my mind. But now even that is gone. So I just sleep, peacefully in your arms, know we can and will love each other, whenever we want to – if we don’t get interrupted. It is as bad as that damn telephone was at home, isn’t it?” 

They were barely in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed, as Jean removed Lucien’s day brace and started to put on the night brace, when there was a knock on the door. “Major? Jean? Can I come in?” Lucien looked at Jean, grinned, and answered for the two of them, “Of course, you can, Joseph.” 

“Um, I brought my Christmas present for Mattie that I want you to take to Ballarat for me. Need to keep it a secret from her,” he said as he handed the package to Jean. “I will take care of it for you,” Jean told him. Joseph looked at the two of them, swallowed hard, stared at his Major. He had something to tell them, but what? They both knew him so well, Lucien from the camp experience and both of them from the week he spent with them after falling off of the couch at the cabin. Jean remembered fondly their wedding day – Joseph and Mattie, in the Blake backyard, with Lucien serving as best man and I was matron of honor. Then the honor bestowed on the Blake family by naming the children after Lucien and his mother, Genevieve. Joseph had great difficulty with Lucien’s disappearance, spent hours talking to Richard, just like I did.

“Major, I know how busy and hectic the house will be when we all get there for Christmas. I um well have something I need to tell you. You know me. I will stumble my way through this but I must tell you, yes.” Jean reached for his hands, looked at him, smiled. “Thank you, Jean. I need to tell the Major um what it means to me, having him _back_ in my life, in Mattie and my life, and of course, Blake and Jenny,” Joseph told her, then finally looked Lucien in the eyes.

Joseph took a deep breath before beginning, “Major, I have missed you. When I doubted whether you would ever be back, and I had days like that, I thought back to your leadership in camp, how you kept us focused, believing we five would all get out alive, live a life of purpose, service, yes even find love. I want ah I must thank you for helping me to believe that we would _all_ come through this alive, just like those many years ago. This has been on my mind since you returned,” Joseph finished, just barely before the tears rolled from his eyes. In trying to catch his breath, he broke into sobs. 

Lucien reached for him, “Joseph, Joseph, it is alright. Here, sit down between us. Let us help.” After a few minutes, Joseph began to get control of his sobbing, found a Lucien handkerchief placed in his hands, and looked at his Major, then at Jean. “See why I needed to tell you this here? Could not have done it at the Blake House, too many people around. The last two Christmas seasons have been so difficult for me, without you in the house, sitting in the sunroom talking until all hours of the night, only got through them because of Mattie, Blake, Jenny and of course, Jean. I am so glad you are back, Major.”

Diane, upon hearing the noise in the room, opened the door slightly, looked in at the trio, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding on to each other. She thought, tea, yes put the big kettle on.


	40. Home

Chapter 40 Home 

Diane gently knocked on the door, “I have tea for the three of you. May I bring it in?” Jean got off of the bed, walked to the door to help Diane, and then they placed the cups and saucers on the table. “Thank you, so much, Diane,” Jean told her. “If you need any help, push the call button.”

Jean motioned for Lucien and Joseph to come sit down at the table. Joseph helped Lucien off the bed, into a chair, and then he sat down. “The two of you, both of you, are so important to me, my um, well everything. With you gone, Major, I was just missing an integral part of me, the man who helped me understand my nightmares, let me live in your house, discover Mattie, um so, so much. And I am not going to break down, not now,” Joseph said, grinding to a halt, grinning at both Jean and Lucien. 

“Joseph, you need to remember how much you helped Lucien come to an understanding of his nightmares. You started him writing in his journal. You have been there for me so often these last two years. I would not have survived without you. Do you hear what I just told you Joseph McCann?” Jean told him, reaching for both Lucien and Joseph’s hands to hold. “Yes Jean, I heard. I love you both.” “Joseph, as I learn more about my abduction and your stepping up to help my love, I want to thank you for holding on to her, keeping your family involved in this household. I um well, just thank you,” Lucien told him, shaking his head back and forth, wiping a tear. 

“Now, Joseph, when are you coming to our house for Christmas? “We are coming Thursday morning, bringing presents, more decorations, and will stay until you two run us off. I have cleared my call list for the next 10 days. I want to sit and talk until the wee hours, if Alice will let you,” Joseph told his Major. “Yes, I have an idea she is going to be ordering me around, and I will probably deserve it,” Lucien told him, with a grin. “Is Blake excited about Christmas?” “Jean, yes and no. He is more excited about being with Lucien, reading to him, playing with his erector set, doing puzzles with his ‘Blake’ than Christmas. In that regard, my son and I are quite a bit alike.” 

After finishing their cups of tea, Joseph stood up, “I have myself together now and need to head home. Thank you both. I will see you on Thursday. I love you both. I am so delighted you are going home already, Major.” “Joseph, we are too. I never imagined this to be possible, Jean and me, at 7 Mycroft Avenue for Christmas, 1964.” “Good night, you two.”

When Joseph left the room, Lucien looked at Jean, reached for her hand, and took a deep breath. “And I did not know who Joseph was for the first couple of days. That must have crushed him,” Lucien said, kissing Jean’s hand. “But my love, you did figure it out. And, like Joseph said, your leadership kept all of us focused on the day you would return. Now, Dr. Blake, I will ask Diane to pack your knee and I will get in bed with you. I need to mess around with you tonight. Once we are in Ballarat, I don’t know how often we will be alone, just the two of us, in our bed,” Jean told her love. 

Charlie, James and Bill drove back from Ballarat, parked the ambo at a side entrance and quickly made their way to the POW Suite. A couple of Melbourne constables were assigned to watch the vehicle until Charlie returned. As the threesome walked into the POW Suite, James spotted Lucien, Aaron, Jean next to Carol’s desk. “Need to tell this group goodbye for a couple of days. Major, you behave yourself. I don’t want to hear one bad word about you from Alice,” James told him, grinning at him, but trying to be serious at the same time. Jean looked at James and said, “James, do not worry. Aaron and I will handle him today. On Wednesday, we will pass him along to Gus. On Thursday, you will be there.” James laughed at the group, shook his head, then gave his Major a hug, and was off for his office hours. “Of course, Jeannie, that is certainly a plan. But my love, I am telling you now, you will not need it. When I get home, I will just relax, behave myself, love you,” Lucien told Jean, grinning. 

Carol walked up to the group, rolling a cart in front of her. “I need to tell you three, I will miss you, but I will be in Ballarat on Christmas for the noon ceremony. So will not tell you goodbye until later. All of the medical records, films, medications are in this box. Here is the second brace for Lucien. Richard just called and said he will be here in the next ten minutes. Suitcases are ready to load on the cart. Jean, do you have your grant satchel?” “Yes I do. Made the last run through the rooms and I think I have everything. If we forgot something, add it to Gus’ gear tomorrow. Have you heard from Hugh? Are they going to make it back before we leave?” Jean asked. 

“You bet I am,” Gus said, with a chuckle. Hugh and Paul were pushing the wheelchair with Gus who just had the cast placed on his wrist. “Blake, Aaron, Jean, have a good trip. I am looking forward to my arrival tomorrow. Don’t do all the tree decorating until I get there,” Gus told them, grinning. Paul shook Lucien’s hand, “I will see you on Christmas day. Looking forward to your ‘Do.’ Lady Jean, I know how happy you are to be on your way home. Take good care of each other.” "Thank you Paul for all of your help. Come early, stay overnight if you want to,” Jean told him. 

Hugh walked up to his Major, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, “Major, see you tomorrow. I am looking forward to a break in my schedule. Nowhere I would rather be than the Blake house and Jean’s Place. Good food, good company, and your lounge in the backyard.” “Hugh, so it is still in the backyard. I think we may have to draw lots on my lounge or maybe enforce a time limit on it,” Lucien said, grinning. Aaron just smiled at them, did not say a word about his gift to the house. I am glad Alice alerted me to the ‘Lounge’ issue. Danny hurriedly walked up to the group. “Alright folks, I am here and we can load the vehicles. Charlie, I will be back later today to help get the evidence into boxes and ready for transfer tomorrow.”

Danny drove one car, Aaron sharing the front seat with him, most of the luggage was in the boot, with Lucien’s wheelchair and extra brace in the back seat. Bill drove the ambo with Richard in the front seat with him. Lucien was reclining on the stretcher in the back, with his leg propped up on a couple of pillows. Jean was sitting next to him in the jump seat, holding his hand, kissing it occasionally. Lucien was relaxed, he even dozed for part of the trip. Richard could chat with Jean and keep an eye on his Major. 

As Bill drove into driveway of 7 Mycroft Avenue, Lucien noticed that the outside of the house had not changed. Once the ambo was parked close to the front entrance, Bill, Danny, and Richard helped Lucien off the stretcher, out of the ambo, gave him his crutches. Lucien went to assist Jean out of the vehicle, then smiled at her, “Mrs. Blake, would you accompany me into our house?” Jean broke into a huge smile, “Of course, my love.” They walked in, and discovered the hallway was decorated with streamers, balloons, flowers, and a sign “Welcome Home, Lucien and Jean.” “Jean, would you look at this?” Lucien told her, as he bent to kiss her on the cheek.

The surgery door opened and Alice, Rose, Kate, Ella and Allie stood clapping, smiling, and then from Matthew and Alice’s bedroom, came Matthew, Arnie, Vincent and Cliff. They attempted to sing “For he’s a jolly good fellow” but their tune was quite off key. Halfway through the song, they stopped, breaking down in laughter. Bill and Danny steadied Lucien as everyone hugged him, told him how good it was to see him in the house, where he belonged, for the first time in over two years.

“Dr. Blake, are you hungry? We have biscuits and tea ready in the kitchen. Lunch will be on the table in an hour or so,” Kate said, looking at Lucien, smiling. “You look so much better than when we visited you a couple of weeks ago. Gained some weight, haven’t you?” “Yes, Kate, I am better, and I remember who all of you are now. I am so um well so glad to be home. Thank you all for taking care of Jean, our house, I um am - “ Lucien tried to tell the group. Richard walked up to his Major and said, “Let’s look at your bedroom and the new shower. See if you like what the fellows have accomplished.” 

As they walked into the bedroom, Lucien looked around the room, smiling, remembering their decision to make his mother’s Studio into the biggest bedroom he could imagine, even had a fireplace. The first thing he noticed was a recliner, with a huge red bow on it. Pointing at it, Lucien said, “That is new, not here before. And it is, well, such an incredible addition to the room. It is mine, right? And who is it from?” Lucien said grinning, walking closer to it, picking up the gift tag. “For Blake, from Matthew, Alice and Rose. We hope you spend many hours in it, reading, sleeping, relaxing. Enjoy!” he read the tag, with such delight that the entire room full of people were cheering him on. “Thank you, thank you. For this gift, for taking care of our house, helping Jean, being such special friends. I predict that I will spend much time in this chair,” Lucien said with a grin. Alice walked to him, put her hand on his shoulder, and said, “Dr. Blake, I expect to find you in this recliner or lying down in your bed, several hours a day. Agreed?” “Of course, Alice. No arguments from me,” Blake told her. 

“Now, I want to see the bathroom remodel,” Jean said as she walked towards the new shower. “Lucien, come along. Let’s look at it together.” Once they saw how large the shower was, they both looked at each other and Lucien said, “Jeannie, my love, it is big enough for the both of us, at the same time, and well, um –“ Lucien hurriedly stopped himself. Jean was turning purple and he was not far from that color. “Sorry, everyone, forgot we still attract a crowd. Need to watch what I was telling my love. Yes, I embarrassed her.” Jean looked at him, raised an eyebrow at him, and he picked up her hand and kissed it. “Sorry, Jean.” Then Jean looked at the new curtains, towels, knickknacks, fresh flowers – “It is just so beautiful, thank you, all of my remodel crew. Cliff, did you make the curtains?” “Of course not, Ms. Jean. But I know who did,” Cliff said, looking at Kate, Ella and Allie and then pointing, “They all were working on these for the last several days. Do you like them?” Of course. They match so nicely – our new shower, paint choice, new tile, thank you, all of you,” Jean said, nearly in tears. 

“What about tea and biscuits everyone? Let’s move into the kitchen. Fresh biscuits, several of the ones you like Dr. B. But you cannot eat too many of them, ” Ella told the group. “Of course. I see now I will have several ‘minders,’” Blake told the group. 

As the group headed to the kitchen, Richard walked towards his bedroom in the back of the house to leave his overnight bag, and Rose walked with Aaron up the stairs to his room. “Aaron, let’s get you settled. Alice thinks this room will be good for you, away from the noise, a smaller room but plenty of closet space, a window, a fan. The next room is where Hugh and James stay, and the last one is mine, used to be Jean’s and before that Lucien’s boyhood bedroom.” 

Bill followed them up the stairs and placed Aaron’s small duffel bag on the bed. “Aaron, I placed all of your clothing from earlier in the week in the closet or in the small dresser. Your suitcase is in the corner.” Bill told him. “Bill, an excellent idea. Thank you. I see towels are here for me, and a laundry basket?” “Yes, Aaron, just place what items need to be laundered here. And let me show you the loo, shower. It is just down the hall. Hot water in the early morning and mid evening. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need something,” Rose told him, smiling at his look of amazement. “Aaron, what is wrong?” “Um Jean told me this house was large, plenty of room for all of us to stay. My goodness, she was right. This is just perfect for me,” Aaron told the two of them. “Let’s go get some tea. I need to go to work soon, got a couple of stories to wrap. I wanted to be here when all of you arrived today,” Rose told Aaron, smiling at him. 

Richard and Alice were in the Surgery unpacking the box of files and medications from Carol and then talking about patients who would be seeing each of them in the afternoon. Alice asked about the trip from Melbourne. “Lucien did remarkedly well. Jean sat with him, they chatted. He was not apprehensive, not anxious. Aaron rode with Danny, who told me he is still dumbfounded that he was invited here for several weeks, talked about being ‘adopted’ by Jean and Lucien. He will be a good addition to the Blake family,” Richard told her. “Richard, I almost forgot. Aaron’s lounges are here, in the back yard. I need to show them to him.” 

Alice walked into the kitchen and found it full of people, who were chatting, laughing. “Aaron, I have something to show you. Do you have your sunnies?” Alice asked him, sounding excited, much to Lucien’s suprise. “Yes Dr. Harvey, they are right here, on the top of my head.” “Lucien, Matthew, you need to come as well.” She walked them out to the sunroom, and then continued to the back yard. Aaron saw two lounges, with large bows on them, and smiled. “Yes, oh my look at those.” He walked to them, turned around and announced to the group who had followed them outside, “From me to the Blake Family. Thank you for letting me stay with you. And this one right here is MINE,” as he sat down, stretched out, and grinned. “Yes, this is my life for the next six weeks.” 

Matthew and Lucien grinned at each other. “And, now Blake, I have my very own lounge as well,” Matthew said as he claimed the other new lounge. “You get your old one, see it right over there?” Matthew said, with a mischievous grin on his face, as he pointed at the old one. Alice realized how seldom she had seen that look on his face since Lucien disappeared. Jean glanced at the three of them, laughed, “You three now have a place to settle all of the world’s problems, don’t you? Aaron, this was an excellent idea. Should keep the bickering down, well at least until Hugh and James arrive.” 

Allie announced that lunch would be on the table in a few minutes. Nothing organized, just sandwich fixings, salads, a cake, and plenty of tea. “Everyone, make certain Lucien takes only one small piece of cake. We are still monitoring his food intake. If he whines too much, let me know,” Alice told the group. “Yes, ma’am, Dr. Harvey, I hear you, I understand, but that does not mean I am happy about it,” Lucien told her, shaking his head. Aaron looked at the group and asked, ”Can I eat out here in the sunroom? Admire Jean’s flowers?” Kate looked at him, grinned, “Of course you can. This is such a pleasant place. Just bring your dishes back to the sink.” 

After lunch, only Kate remained behind from the Group Session folks, Matthew and Rose left for work. Jean and Kate were chatting about when to start dinner, Richard and Alice returned to the Surgery, and Aaron put an arm on Blake’s shoulder. “Want some help lying down?” “Yes, I do, Aaron. Really getting tired, What about you?” “Me too. Need some cold packs.” “Aaron, the cold packs are here,” Jean told him. Aaron walked Lucien into the bedroom, got him settled, neck and knee packed, knee elevated. “Well, did I do it the way you wanted?” “Aaron, of course you did. Thank you. So, what do you think of my father’s old house?” “Lucien, I did not really understand how large it is, didn’t realize how everyone works together here, helps each other, cares for each other. The atmosphere is so well, um “Aaron stopped, could not find the words he wanted. “Aaron, when James came here years ago, to reestablish contact with me, he said a similar thing. And back then, I simply told him it was all due to Jean’s influence. And in my mind it still is. Now are you going to take a nap as well?” “Yes, I am. I am not going to mess up, don’t want to be sent back to hospital, stay by myself, no, not what I want to do,” Aaron told him. “I won’t let you mess up, Aaron. You are here until you are able to return to Melbourne to work.” 

Aaron walked back to the kitchen, reached into the freezer for some more cold packs and started to his room. “Aaron, let me go with you, pack your neck and shoulders, get you settled,” Jean told him. “Jean, thank you, I would appreciate the help. And thank you once again for the invite. I was quite unsure about coming, but now, I know, that was just my insecurities,” Aaron told her, grinning. “And the two new lounges, a marvelous idea indeed, Dr. Gage,” Jean told him, laughing. “What is so funny Jean?” “’Lounge Envy’ is what I have called it for years. Not one of them purchased another lounge, and here you have added two, on the first day that you are here,” Jean told him. Aaron looked at her, grinned, and finally decided to tell her, “Alice suggested I buy them for the house. I now understand why she did.” Jean finished packing his neck, placed the last pack over his eyes, turned on the fan, and left the room. “Dinner is at 6:30 this evening, Aaron.” “Do I need to dress up?” “Of course not.” 

When Jean returned to the kitchen, Kate asked, “Ready to work on the lamb? Get it into the oven?” “Yes, I want to eat by 6:30 so Richard can finish with his appointments and get ready for the Group Session. Gives me some time to take a nap as well, I am really glad you stayed this afternoon to help us. Been a strange time for me, being away for so many days, dealing with Lucien’s memory issues, missing my friends. Trying to make sense of all of this,” Jean told her, smiling. Kate said, as she placed a hand on Jean’s shoulder, “I will watch the lamb, get us organized for dinner, and straighten up the kitchen. Go take a nap, my friend.” 

As Aaron began to wake up, he reminded himself of the change in location, this was now his room for the next few weeks, he let out a huge sigh of relief, smiled. What was that delightful smell? I remember that, yes, roast lamb, from my childhood, and it has been years since I enjoyed that meal. Is that what we are having for dinner? Oh my goodness, that will be worth getting myself up, walking down the stairs. He removed all of the cold packs which were now warm, looked at the bedside clock and discovered he had slept nearly four hours. He made a trip to the loo, then he gathered the warm packs and walked down the stairs. He followed his nose to the kitchen, found Jean, Kate, and Alice sitting at the table, chatting. “Dr. Gage, did you have a good nap?” Alice said, with a smile. “Yes I did. It is so much quieter here than hospital. And to awaken to that marvelous smell of roast lamb, do you hear my stomach growling?” “What about a trip to the Surgery for me to check you over?” Alice asked. “Yes, ma’am. Is Blake still asleep?” Jean looked at him, “Aaron, you did a good job putting him to bed. I laid down with him, took a two hour nap, and did not wake him up. Believe it or not, he is still snoring.” 

Alice walked with Aaron to the Surgery, got his vitals, preformed a thorough neurological exam, wrote extensive notes, chatted with him. “Aaron, everything is similar to last couple of hospital exams. One difference, your blood pressure is down. And nothing wrong with that. Thank you for taking a nap this afternoon. I think your lounge is unoccupied. You may want to get some tea and sit outside until dinner,” Alice told him, smiling. “Dr. Harvey, ma’am, Alice, thank you,” Aaron told her, grinning. “And what is so funny?” “I am here, in Ballarat, not by myself, new friendships to establish, it is just wonderful. Thank you.” 

Jean and Alice walked into the studio bedroom and discovered Lucien was awake, looking around the room, smiling. “Lucien, starting to wake up, my love? You slept the afternoon away. It is about 5:30,” Jean told him, surprised she did not hear him yell himself awake. “Um, Jeannie, I dreamed you were in bed with me, for a while this afternoon. Could that be right?” Lucien asked, with the little lost boy look on his face. “Yes, I slept for two hours, held your hand, kissed you, and you, Lucien Blake, just snored on. Finally gave up on you and got up,” Jean told him, giggling. “Wait, wait, I smell lamb, you fixed lamb for me, for dinner, didn’t you?” “Kate and I are working on the final touches, so you need to get yourself out of bed, into the loo, and ready for our first dinner, in our house, in over two years,” Jean told him, as she kissed his cheeks, and then his hand. “Jeannie, I love you. I am home, our place, can really relax.” 

“Lucien, let’s do your medical check while Kate and Jean finish dinner. I can do it right here, how does that sound?” Alice asked him, smiling at Lucien. “Alice, fine. Write down that I did take a nap, that I have not gotten into trouble today, so Gus won’t chew on me tomorrow,” Lucien said with a chuckle. “James left me notes on your blood pressure staying low normal, and to continue monitoring you. I want to do a neurological exam to get parameters for you here. Won’t take long, my friend.” In twenty minutes she was completed the examination, her notes, and had time to chat with Lucien. “I am not going to adjust your medications today. Will follow you for a few days and then will talk with James when he comes on Thursday. Don’t get up too quickly,” Alice told him. 

“Alice, how is Aaron doing? He is quite apprehensive about moving in with us. I don’t want him to feel like he is a bother. If you pick up anything, let Jean or me know, alright?” Lucien asked. “Already talked with Aaron, and I agree he is somewhat tentative about being here, but is getting more comfortable with the idea that he is welcome. Now, let me get you some help to get out of bed, to the loo, and into the kitchen. Stay there, I will be right back.” 

Aaron and Bill walked into the room. “Blake, ready to get up? Let me get your leg lowered off of the pillows, help you swing this way. Bill, grab his crutches. Now, we stand on each side of him, help steady him as he comes up. Good. Lucien, are you doing alright?” Aaron asked. “Fine, thank you both. Going to the loo and then into the kitchen. I smell my favorite roast lamb and Aaron, I will share some of it with you, but not too much!” 

As Lucien was walking out of their bedroom, Jean met him. “Let me show you the new furniture. Right this way, Dr. Blake,” she told him, smiling, holding on to his arm. As he looked at the new design of the room, the furniture placed in just the right places, he grinned, reached for Jean’s hand, and said, “Well, Mrs. Blake, excellent choices, thank you for updating our house. Very smart choices. So glad you are taking care of me, our house, and that you are staying with me. May I kiss you?” “Yes, as long as you don’t fall on your face,” Jean told him. Bill walked up behind them, “Don’t want to disturb you two, but I will steady you Doc, so you can properly kiss your bride.” “Bill, please do that for me,” Lucien told him, taking advantage of his ‘balance’ and kissed Jean for a prolonged period of time. Aaron saw what Bill was doing, looked at him, and nodded his agreement. “Good idea, Bill,” he said softly, as he walked into the kitchen. 

Lucien and Jean slowly walked into the kitchen, looked at the table with every chair filled but two. Everyone saw Lucien gasp, catch his breath, and look at Jean. “Um, I um ah did not think this would ever be possible. I – am – home, with my extended family, and my love – who waited for me. And we are having my very favorite meal,” Lucien told the group, then looking at Jean. Richard stood up, and offered a toast, “Major and Jean, welcome home, we are all so glad to see you both at this table. Major, I have missed, really missed your counsel. Um, one more thing, Matthew and I will be in the Sunroom at 8:30 this evening, ready to talk until the wee hours. We hope you will join us.” 

As Richard prepared for the Group session in the Blake living room, he walked up to his Major and gave him some orders. “Major, you are not allowed in this room tonight. I do not want you to have any more stimulation than you have experienced today. This group understands my reasoning, we talked about it last week. I am assigning you to Matthew this evening. You two can sit outside and talk, stretch out on the lounges, whatever, but you are not a part of this group. Understood?” “Richard, you delight in ordering me around, don’t you? But, I totally agree with your thinking. I was trying to figure out how to tell the group I was not ready to see them, talk with them yet. I am certain that day will come soon, just not now,” Lucien told him. “Major, be gone. I will be outside by 8:30. I want to talk some more with you and Matthew.”

Matthew and Lucien walked to the back yard and before each of them sat down on a lounge, Matthew stopped Lucien. “Blake, we have not had much time, just the two of us, to talk. I have something to tell you, wanted to tell you this for days. I am so glad you are back, even if you are gimpy, confused some of the time, I will take you that way. I have missed your company, your insight into cases, but most of all, your friendship. I have missed sitting out here talking, arguing, laughing. Bloody Hell, Blake, having you gone was just plain torture for me, and everyone else in this house.” Matthew reached for Lucien to shake his hand but instead gave him a hug. As he pulled away, he wiped tears from his eyes. 

“Um Matthew, I understand that you, James, Charlie and Danny kept my disappearance active, despite the fact you should have declared it a ‘cold case’ months ago. How can I ever thank you. And since I have been back, I want to thank you for yelling at me, on occasion, making me face up to my behavior that is at times a total mess. I have missed you. God, Matthew I have missed you. Thank you for helping Jean, for keeping me ‘alive’ in this house, and for the extended Blake family.” They hugged again, and Matthew, said, “Now let’s sit down, stretch out on these new lounges and take a load off of our bum knees.” “Yes, of course.”

After Richard’s group session, he joined Matthew and Lucien in the sunroom. Jean heard the three of them talking, laughing. At this point in the evening, you would never know what Lucien had been through. He was sliding back into the routine he enjoyed before his abduction. 

Alice and Jean were in the kitchen chatting about the grant, what needed to be completed, and Alice had offered to read the third paper. They were also discussing the plans for Christmas eve and day. Rose and Aaron joined them and Rose explained the timing for the arrival of the trees on Wednesday and Santa on Thursday evening. 

Aaron stood up, put the kettle on for the four of them, served them tea, and sat back down. “Thank you Dr. Gage,” Rose told him, smiling, looking at Jean who was looking at the two of them. “Aaron, how was your first day in our house?” Jean asked him. “Jean, it surpassed my expectations. My nervousness has abated, I um well, maybe it really hasn’t but I know I am going to enjoy my stay, and hope my blasted headache begins to let up. Going to be careful with all of the festivities that I don’t overdue it.”

“Going to get some cold packs and go to bed. Running out of gas all of a sudden,” Aaron told the group. “Aaron, I will help you, let’s go,” Alice smiled at him as she got the cold packs from the freezer. Jean joined Matthew, Lucien, Bill and Richard as they talked about the evidence transfer, which was happening on Wednesday morning. “Where are we going to store it, Boss? Of course we need a safe and secure location. But more than that, when we off load it, Danny, Charlie and I do not need to be recognized as coppers,” Bill told the group. They debated the pros and cons of several ‘vault’ style places, with easy access to them, but not bring undo attention when they would be transferring boxes from the car. 

Jean suggested, “What about the Cec's wine cellar at the Club or the old Richards mine, near our cabin?” Matthew looked at her, “Jean, once again, brilliant, just bloody brilliant.” Lucien looked her, “I know where the Club is but the mine?” She explained where it was located, and Lucien replied, “Well yes of course. With the Club, they could dress as delivery people, we could borrow a delivery truck, think it would work and we can keep an eye on it. The mine is pretty far out of town, probably would not draw attention.” Then Bill said, “What about splitting it into two, part in town and part out of town? I understand that Danny and Charlie have it packed into boxes, boxes numbered and an inventory written down.“ Matthew told Bill, split it, take care of this tomorrow morning.” “Yes, Boss, we will do it. I will call Cec now and talk to him this evening.”

After having helped Aaron to his room, and packing his neck and shoulders, Alice retuned to the sunroom, looked at Lucien, and said, “Dr. Blake, this is your bedtime. Let’s go, now.” Lucien looked at her, then groaned, whined a bit, “Common on Alice, it is not that late, I slept all afternoon, and this is such good conversation.” “And you are arguing with me. That is not allowed. Let’s go, now.” “Jean, aren’t you going to help me here, please?” “No, follow your doctor’s instructions. Good night Lucien Blake.” Richard and Bill steadied Lucien as he got up, then he looked at Jean, “Coming with me my dear?” “Of course I will. Let’s go.” 

Tuesday evening in Melbourne, the POW Suite was relatively quiet, compared to the previous two weeks. Diane, James and Gus were eating dinner in the Physician’s Lounge, finishing off the wine from the other evening, chatting. Diane looked at both physicians, and said, “I want to thank you, James, for asking me to do this special duty stint. I have enjoyed meeting the Ballarat group, helping them. And I have never in my life been treated so well, by physicians and family.” “Diane, you and Carol have provided the type of care we envisioned for Lucien, and I think that is why we let him return to Ballarat today. But, I did not expect the additional patients, Aaron and Gus,” James told her, pointing at Gus. “And Diane, I am glad you and Carol decided to help me. I deserved to be put in my place, and you two did just that, but in a gentle, humane way. Thank you,” Gus told her. “Hey you two, can I have some help with my dinner? I can’t even cut up my meat with this damn cast on,” Gus growled, and then said, “Sorry, need to figure this out, but I don’t want to tonight.”

When they were finished eating, James suggested, “Ready to make our run to your place, Gus and pack up your suitcase, get ready for tomorrow?” “Yes, let’s go. Diane, will you help me pack enough clothing for the trip? Rare for me to go anywhere for three weeks, usually just attend professional conferences, never go anywhere to just relax for that amount of time,” Gus said, grinning. “Remember, Gus, laundry can be done there, you could buy a couple more pair of lounge pants, shorts if you need to,“ Diane suggested. 

Once they had packed his suitcase, gathered his mail, locked his place, they returned to the POW Suite. James reminded them he was on call that evening if they required his assistance, then said his good byes. Diane and Gus sat in the lounge, talking, listening to the wireless. Gus, looking at Diane, asked, “Are you coming to Jean and Lucien’s for Christmas day?” “Gus, yes I will be there. I am coming with Carol and her husband. Should be a lot of fun. The Blakes are both such incredible people. They seem to be surrounded by the same type of people. I am glad I am included in their circle of friends,” Diane told him. Gus smiled at Diane, “You know, you could stay longer than just Christmas Day, if you wanted to, Diane. I know they have quite a bit of space.” “Gus, depends on the special nursing assignments that are available. Need to pay my bills.” 

Then Gus started yawning. “Diane, you are not boring company, quite the contrary, sorry but I am really getting sleepy. Going to get into my bed or I will be sleeping on this couch tonight.” Once Gus was in bed, his arm propped up on a couple of pillows, Diane gave him his pain medication. “See you in the morning, Gus.” “Yes, indeed, Diane. Thanks for all of your help, as a physician and as an ornery patient,” he said, grinning at her. Diane updated his medical chart, got his medications organized for Alice, and put everything in a container for the trip in the morning. She checked on him an hour later, and Gus was sound asleep. 

Bill and Richard left early Wednesday morning for the return trip to Melbourne. Bill parked the police cruiser, met Danny and Charlie, and they walked to the POW Suite. Hugh and Gus were eating breakfast with Carol, had their gear packed and ready to go. Carol had the container with Gus’ chart and medications on her desk. “Let’s load up the luggage, evidence, Gus’ records and medications, and head to Ballarat. I think two cars will work,” Danny told the group. “Carol, I will see you in Ballarat, right?” Gus asked. “Yes on Christmas Day, looking forward to the festivities.”

Bill, Gus, Hugh, Danny and Charlie drove to Ballarat and the Blake house. Bill had discussed the ideas that Jean had presented the evening before and they agreed to split the evidence. The boxes were numbered, and Carol has acted as scribe the day before recording the contents of each box. Bill had borrowed a Ute from one of his friends and they transferred all of the evidence to it before storing a part of it at the Club and the remainder in the old mine. They were all in civvies so the unloading would hopefully be unnoticed. 

About 9 AM, Lucien began to awaken. He realized that Aaron was sitting in his new recliner, looking at him. “Blake, you doing alright this morning?” “Yes Aaron, I think so. There is so little noise in this house compared to hospital, I remember this is Jean and my bedroom, such a large room. Where is she? She stayed in bed with you until 8 AM and then assigned me to sit with you. She and Alice are in the kitchen drinking tea. Matthew and Rose are at work. Bill and Richard left hours ago for Melbourne. Should I go get Jean and Alice?” “Don’t know yet. Did I yell? Make a scene like in hospital? Do I need to apologize?” “No, Lucien, you did not yell.” “That surprises me. But that is good news. You know, I do need to use the loo, change the brace. I am really hungry.”

Aaron and Lucien walked to the kitchen, Aaron helped him sit down, got him a cup of tea, went out to find Jean and Alice, who had moved to the sunroom. Jean walked up to Lucien, kissed him and said, “I hear you are hungry.” “Jean, I am very hungry, sleeping so much, don’t know why,” Lucien told her. Alice walked up to them and said, “Lucien, it is not just you. Aaron is sleeping much longer than recorded on his hospital chart as well. I think you are both relaxing, not as much noise, and I would assume you will not sleep as much after a couple of days here.” 

On arriving in Ballarat, Gus and Hugh entered the house, with Hugh heading to the surgery to read charts of his afternoon patients. Bill put his gear on the steps going upstairs, and walked Gus to the back where his bedroom would be, sharing with Richard. Then Bill, Charlie, and Danny transferred the evidence to the Ute and left with it. “We will be back for lunch, so save us some, especially the desserts,” Danny said, smiling at his Auntie Jean.

Gus walked into the kitchen and found no one there. Hearing the noise outside, he walked into the sunroom and found Jean and Alice drinking tea. Then he spotted Aaron and Lucien, outside, stretched out on the new lounges. They were talking about the marvelous lamb roast that Jean had prepared for Lucien’s first evening back. “Aaron, now you need to remember, any and all leftovers in the fridge have my name on them!” Lucien said with a laugh. “And you need to recall, that Jean told me I could eat anything out of the fridge I wanted, Dr. Blake.” Gus chuckled, walked out to see them, sat in the third lounge, and let out a huge sigh of relief. “Gus, welcome to the Blake house. We are very glad you are here,” Lucien told him. “How is the wrist behaving?” Aaron asked him. “As you can see, still using the sling. Going to work on a new design for this blasted thing. Hoping Jean would assist me with my construction project,” he said, shaking his head. 

Jean walked out with some tea for Gus and looked at his cast and sling. “And what are we going to invent, Gus?” “Good, Jean I knew you would help me. I have plans in my head, but cannot draw them out the way I usually do.” 

“Welcome, we are glad you are here. I can tell you that the first day went well for both Lucien and Aaron,” Alice told him. “And Gus I will add, loudly for all to hear, I did not scream myself awake today. And Jean was not in my bed, she was up, talking to Alice. And it was 9:30 before I finally got out of bed. Aaron was my minder, and he was asleep in my new recliner. Lots of help he was at first. You must see my new recliner, our new shower, very spiffy indeed, and did you notice we have new lounges, a gift from Dr. Gage.” Lucien said with a chuckle.

Rose and Matthew come home for lunch with the Blake household. “Lucien, Aaron, it is so hard to go to work, with you two here. I want to talk with you, decorate the trees, but I still have two stories to finish,” Rose told them, with a whine in her voice. “Why don’t you stay here for part of the afternoon? Cliff and Vincent are coming just after lunch today with our three trees. Help us get started and then go back to work,” Jean suggested. Then Hugh said, “Listen, Rose, just do not pull an attempted all-nighter on me. I am nearly on my own break for two weeks or so, don’t want any new patients!” “Hugh, you didn’t need to remind me of my poor behavior, in front of everyone here. But, well, you all know that anyway, don’t you?” Rose said, looking a bit sheepish.

Hugh and Alice were in the surgery, talking about their afternoon patients. Alice was studying Gus’ chart, looking at his medications. “I will talk with him later this afternoon. What is your opinion Hugh?” “Gus is doing much better, the cast has been on over 24 hours and he has not been complaining as much about it. Worse problem is eating. So we will need to help him at times. And Alice, I got Lucien’s latest drug concentrations this morning. They are now down about 75% from his admission on December 4th. Let’s keep an eye on his blood pressure. Talk with James tomorrow.”

After lunch the fellows returned with the three Christmas trees. Each of them was nicely shaped, freshly cut. Cliff asked, “Jean, Jean, we are here and where do we place the trees?” “Let me see them, Cliff. Yes, oh my, they are just perfect. I am so glad we are back in town, to decorate our house. Now, let me look at them. This one goes in the living room, and this one is in our bedroom, and then this smaller one is in the sunroom. Lucien, Lucien, come look at the trees. Rose, would you decide on which decorations for each tree before you return to work.” Rose had placed decorations in the vicinity of each tree, left instructions to write down what they needed to purchase. “When I return from work, I hope to see most of the decorating completed. This house is going to look so good, so ready for Christmas, so ready for Blake and Jenny. This is exciting, yes it is,” Rose said, smiling. 

After placing the trees in their designated locations in the rooms, Cliff looked at Lucien who was overseeing the work, and winked at him. “Where, Dr. B?” Lucien looked up at a place in several rooms, and Vincent got on a small ladder and hung the mistletoe. Lucien just watched, with childlike glee, trying to suppress his chuckles. Soon after, Jean walked into the hallway where Lucien was standing, ready to order him into the their bedroom to start the decorating. He reached for her, eyebrows dancing, mischief in his eyes, “Jean my darling, look what you are standing under and I am claiming the first kiss of the 1964 mistletoe season.” Jean smiled at him, and then said, “Alright, Dr. Blake, give me your best kiss!” Once they separated, they looked at each other, smiling, Lucien pushed Jean’s hair away from her eyes, and then heard Gus, Vincent and Cliff laughing. “Blake, how are we going to get anything accomplished in this house. There is mistletoe everywhere!” Gus told him, chuckling. “Where else is it Gus?” Jean asked. “I found it over Joseph and Mattie’s bedroom door and the front door to the house and in the sunroom. Blake, Jean, my friends, Merry Christmas,” Gus told them.

When the decorating crew had placed all of the ornaments on the trees, Alice walked up to Aaron, Gus and Lucien and said, “Now you three – please lay down for one hour for me. Now.” “Yes ma’am. I understand. Can I ask what is for dinner?” Aaron said. “Aaron, are you always thinking about food? I think the Kate and Ella have chock and three veg, dessert,” Jean told him. “Jean, it certainly seems that way now. Thank you again for asking me to come and stay. Been here a couple of days and I um yes, thank you. I have not decorated a tree in forever.” 

“Gus, I have time now to check on you. Let go to the surgery. I have your chart and medications there,” Alice suggested. “Alice, really, I am fine,” Gus told her. Alice looked at him. “Well, on second thought, alright. I will not argue with you,” Gus told her. Lucien gave him a silly grin, shook his head, as he walked into the bedroom to stretch out. 

Dinner that evening was indeed chock and three veg, with Jean, Lucien, Matthew, Alice, Gus, and Hugh at the kitchen table as well as Aaron and Rose eating outside in the sunroom. Conversation was wide ranging, pleasant, and relaxing. Afterwards, there was an exodus to the lounges and the sunroom. 

Jean glanced at Lucien, and he picked up her cues, and they headed to the bedroom, got derailed by the mistletoe once again, and then walked into their room. “Jeannie, excellent idea. Need some time for just us.” “Yes, Lucien, we do my love. I have shared you with everyone the last couple of days. You are _mine_ this evening. Let’s change your brace, get settled into bed. I need you, to hold you, enjoy you and love you, Lucien Blake.” “Oh, you do, Mrs. Blake. I remember when we planned the conversion of the studio to our bedroom. Getting us away from our boarders. You my love, were a bit on the loud side, if I remember correctly.” “Lucien, it was not only me, if I remember correctly,” Jean told her love, grinning at him, kissing him.

They both reached for each other, began kissing each other passionately, and let out sighs of relief, almost at the same time. “Jeannie, we are home, my love. In my wildest dreams, just a few weeks ago, I never imagined this would be the case. Never.” “Lucien Blake, I had not given up on you, I could not, not with Matthew, James, Danny and Charlie so intent on finding a clue, a crumb that might lead them to you. But these upcoming 1964 holidays – well, they were going to be so hard, once again. Then James delivered the very best present I have ever had. You – were – alive!”


	41. Christmas Eve

Ch. 41 Christmas Eve 

Jean looked at Lucien and said, “Wait a minute. Going to put a sign on the door. Want to be left alone tonight, and even in the morning. What should I put on it? Oh, wait, what did Richard call it? Yes, um ‘Couple Time.‘ That is what I will write, put it on the door. What do you think?” Lucien looked at her, smiling, grinning, and then laughing, as she walked to the door. “Jeannie, I don’t care what you put on the door, just get back in bed with me right now. I need to look at you, hold you, feel you, kiss you. And it needs to happen very soon, my love.”

As Jean started to get into the bed, Lucien stopped her. “You are still dressed, I need to remedy that situation, promptly.” He started to smile at her, reached for face, simply looked into her eyes, grinned, traced his index finger over face, admiring his love, and said “Jean Blake, I – love – you. I have loved you since the first day I stumbled into this house, drunk as a skunk, intending to fire my father’s housekeeper. Thank goodness, I did not follow through with that plan. So gorgeous, so lovely, sassy and smart and um courageous, yes, my love. And you stayed here, yes you did, argued with me, slowly began to trust me, believe in me, I began to believe in myself and well, the rest is history, as they say.” 

Lucien reached for her nightie, removed it, tossed it on to his new recliner and smiled at her. “Jeannie, my love, I um yes, we are in our bed, in our home.” Jean grinned at him, kissed his face, neck, chest, and then reached for Ratcliffe to hold, caress, and kiss. “Lucien, you can tell him to start waking up. I brought Joseph’s box back with us from hospital and I placed a couple under my pillow. Maybe we will need them?“ “I think that is a possibility,” he said, flirting at her, kissing her. “Jeannie, I love you.” 

As Jean and Lucien started waking up, they found themselves embracing each other and Lucien’s brace was at the end of the bed, his knee resting on a pillow. Looking at each other, they kissed, tears collecting in their eyes. “Jeannie, what in the world happened last night? I remember um we went on for hours, you were so good with me, helped me. Are you alright?” “Lucien, I was really quite bad. I got so frustrated with that darn brace, I just took it off of you, and spent time on top of you, and Radcliffe, and we um we” Jean stopped, beginning to blush. “Went at it, like teenagers, if I remember correctly. Is that right?” “Yes, my love. That is a fair analysis I think.” “Not going to say anymore, Jeannie?” “Lucien, I needed you so badly, and um did I hurt your knee? Radcliffe was so playful, let me suit him up several times, and he spent time inside, letting me hold him, so tightly. 

After an hour of talking, loving, they both made their way to the shower, and as they began cleaning up, Lucien pulled Jean into the shower with him, kissed her, “Lucien Blake, what on earth are you doing?” “I need you to balance me in here. Um making my love turn purple, is my intention. And I am succeeding!” “Lucien, my um, I never did let myself dream of this day. I knew if I did and I was told um you um –“ “Jean, I am here. You don’t have to dream it, because I am the real Lucien Blake, back to entertain you in the evenings, love you all day. I am only whole with you my love.”

Once Jean and Lucien were dressed, Lucien sat on the edge of the bed, Jean began wrapping his leg, before putting the brace on it, and continued talking to him. Their chatter was overheard by Hugh and Gus, who were walking by the door, laughing at the ‘Couple Time’ sign. “Hugh, that sign has been on the door since last evening, about 8 PM. Do you think they are still in bed? I think we need to take it down before Little Blake gets here and starts asking too many questions, don’t you think?” Gus asked. “I am going to knock, make certain they are doing alright. After all, I am one of the primary physicians for the Major,” Hugh said, chuckling. 

Before he could knock, Lucien bellowed out, “Come in, Dr. Alexander!” and then broke into laughter. “Hugh, um I have a question for you. What are my latest drug concentrations compared to December 4? I will predict they are down once again. Am I correct?” Lucien asked. Jean stared at him, hopeful he would be guarded on what he said next. “Major, down about 75% from your admittance to hospital,” Hugh said, grinning at him. “So about 25% is still left in me, and I was right, yes, by damn, I was right!” Gus and Hugh both noticed that Jean’s face was red, bordering on purple. Lucien reached for her, held her tightly, talking to her, kissing her gently. “I love you, Mrs. Blake. Did you know that?” “I think everyone in this household knows that fact,” Gus told Lucien, with a silly grin on his face.

“Jean, let me wrap Lucien’s leg, put the brace on, alright?” Hugh asked her. Gus walked up to Jean, put his arm around her, “Little Blake is on his way. I came to be certain Lucien combed his hair, and the sign was removed from the door. That little tyke says the most embarrassing things at times.” “Gus, you mean like his Uncle Lucien does?” Jean said, looking at Lucien, shaking her head. 

Allie came early to help with breakfast, so Jean would not have to get up early. Everyone at the Blake house, except Jean and Lucien, had been up for hours and were either in the kitchen, sunroom or reclining on the lounges outside. Jean and Lucien walked into the kitchen, and Allie gave each of them a cup of tea. “Do you two want some breakfast, how about some eggs and toast?” “Allie, thank you so much for coming this morning. I would have left my company abandoned today,” Jean told her. “Jean, I brought the extra sugar, flour, butter for baking this afternoon,” Allie told Jean, as Aaron wandered into the kitchen. 

“Lucien, you were quiet once again this morning. Such good news, for you both. And now, I have a random question. I am going to need a haircut soon. Where should I go in Ballarat?” “Aaron, the sunroom, right here. Ask Jean, she is a good barber. I have to let mine grow for at least another month and then cut it and see if we can figure out how long ago I let my hair grow.” Aaron had a funny look on his face as he stared at Lucien. “Aaron, that’s right, you did not see me at first – huge amount of curly hair and a long beard, can’t believe anyone knew who I was,” Blake told him. “But they did, Aaron. They did. And I can trim you up after lunch. We want you looking sharp for the ceremony tomorrow. But you will have to help me bake biscuits in return,” Jean told him. “Jean, my pleasure. I would love to help you,” Aaron told her. 

“Aaron, I assume there is a story. Tell us,” Lucien said. “My parents owned a bakery in Ayr, Scotland where I grew up. I began working there as a child, became quite proficient decorating biscuits and cakes. Earned extra money working at a bakery on the weekends in Glasgow when I was in medical school. Have not had the chance to bake Christmas biscuits for years. I will help you, Jean. Let’s get little Blake involved as well.” 

The lounge crew were talking louder, welcoming James and Richard to the Blake house. Bill had met their train, and drove them first to the Ballarat Police Station to deliver Sgt. Robert Hannam’s remains to Matthew for safe storage until a later date. Then Matthew handed Richard the package of ‘Blake’ handkerchiefs for the ceremony on Christmas day. “Got to be clandestine with Lucien home. Limited space to hide gifts now. Our closet is stuffed with gifts for Christmas. That has never been the case. Go on to the house, maybe Blake is up by now,” Matthew told them, grinning. Richard looked at him, saw the mischievous look in Matthew’s eyes and said, “Just what have those two been doing, Matthew?” “I think the sign on the door said –“ James interrupted him and added, “’Couple Time,’ by any chance Matthew?” “Yes, that is it exactly. They disappeared after dinner last night. God, it is good to have Blake back at home. We have all missed him. I know before, he drove me up the wall, and I had to fire him, but I love him as a brother, he is a good man, a good friend.”

The McCann family drove into the driveway about 11 AM. Little Blake was chattering away to Joseph about the trip, wondering if Santa would find him that night, would he get any presents, did they have presents for Uncle Lucien. Non-stop commentary from a four year old. Mattie looked at Joseph, shook her head, and said, “I am so glad we are here. Now we have at least a half a dozen minders for him. Come on Blake, let’s go into the house and let Daddy unpack the car.” The front door opened and Jean and Aaron walked out to greet them. “Auntie Jean, we are here! Do you have the trees up already?” Blake asked her, running to stand beside her. “Yes, they are up, and we need a few more decorations that I think are in the car,” Jean said as she reached for Mattie to give her and Jenny a hug. “Here, let me take Jenny, and you can gather up what you need from the car,” Aaron said as he took Jenny from Mattie’s arms. 

“Blake, let’s go into the house and find your Uncle Lucien. Alright?” “Yes. Aaron, is he in bed, like at hospital?” Blake asked, very quickly. “No, I think you will find him in the back yard, stretched out on a lounge. Let’s see if I am right.” Blake ran through the house looking for Lucien and discovered him in the back yard in a lounge, talking to Gus and Hugh, who were close by in the other lounges. “Uncle Lucien, look at this, there are three of these now. Hi, Dr. Gus – as he walked up to the cast on his wrist, felt it. Hugh, where are James and Richard?“ They all looked at the little boy, as he ticked off all of the usual suspects that he knew were rarely far apart. 

“Blake, come here, sit on my lap, tell me about your trip here,” Lucien told him. “Uncle Lucien, I am so glad we got to come here to see you. I did not like that other place. If you are here, you must feel better, right?” “Yes, Blake, I am much better now. I heard that Santa knows you are here for the Christmas and he knows the address of our house and he will be here sometime this evening to pay you a visit. Will you tell him to visit me as well?” “Uncle Lucien, he will visit you, he will visit all of us, everyone at the Blake house.” “Of course,” Lucien told him, as the little boy cuddled with his Uncle, hugged him, and then grinned at him. “I love you, Uncle Lucien.” “Yes, my little man, I love you, too.” 

Alice heard Blake run quickly through the house, to the backyard, and knew that Joseph and Mattie were at the front door. She opened it to find Jean helping them gather the gifts and opened the door to Matthew and her bedroom, and led them to the closet. There was some room left on the floor, but not very much. “Thank you Alice for the loan of your closet,” Joseph told her. “Of course, this is an exciting time for everyone here. Did you bring more decorations? All of the trees need more lights, bulbs. Maybe Jean we string some popcorn to finish them off. What do you think?” “Yes, Alice, let’s do that. I think the lounge crew could sit outside and do that this afternoon. Excellent idea,” Jean told Alice, surprised that she was getting into the swing of the holidays as well. Quite amazing what a four year old could do for the house, along with my Lucien being back, alive, feeling better. Everyone’s spirits are lifted.

Joseph and Mattie walked to their room at the back of the house and discovered mistletoe hanging right over their door. He looked at it, looked at Mattie, and said, “Only one person would think of this. Should we indulge his Holiday cheer?” “Yes, let’s do it right now.” After kissing Mattie, Joseph placed their bags in the room, Mattie hung some clothing up, and they walked to the kitchen. Jean saw them and said, “Let me show you the trees. We have three this year, one in the living room, one in the sunroom and one in our bedroom. 

Kate, Ella, and Allie had prepared their favorite casseroles for lunch for the Blake household of friends. They also brought salads and dessert. Jean wanted to keep the meals simple and she just wanted to enjoy everyone’s company not cook for hours. 

After lunch, Jean walked Aaron to the sunroom, put a sheet around him, and trimmed his hair, then asked him, if he wanted it shorter. “Jean, this is just fine. You have a good eye about what length it should be. Thank you. I really appreciate this. Let’s get started on the biscuits. What type of cutters do you have? I will make the icing to decorate them, make them fancy.” 

They walked into the kitchen, Jean pulled out a variety of cutters, sprinkles, and other items to add to the biscuits. Aaron mixed the icings, with some red, green, white, and blue. Once Jean had mixed the dough, Aaron rolled it out, then cut several sizes of Father Christmas, Angels, Christmas Trees, and Bells for the first bake. Once the biscuits were out of the oven and cooled, Aaron began to decorate them. Jean had Little Blake standing on a chair so he could watch Aaron at work. “Auntie Jean, look at him, look at what he is doing, just watch. He is so good.” Aaron grinned at Blake, and told him the next batch of biscuits, he could decorate some of them. Aaron placed a dozen decorated biscuits on a tray and walked with them to the sunroom and the lounge area. Jean announced the arrival of ‘Aaron’s holiday biscuits’ and limited everyone to just one. 

After eating one of Aaron’s biscuits, Alice stood up and said, “Alright everyone, I need to play the bad cop. I know several people who should lie down for an hour or so. Dr. Blake, Master Blake, Aaron and Gus, please go somewhere quiet and rest. We have a big evening planned for later. If you need a minder, I am certain there are several people here who will gladly serve that purpose.” Blake looked up at Alice, smiled, and said, “I will take Uncle Lucien with me and I will read to him.” Mattie and Joseph just smiled at their young son, as he walked Lucien towards the bedroom. Richard followed Lucien, picked up some cold packs, walked into the bedroom, helped Lucien get settled in the recliner, packed his neck and shoulders. Blake found a book to read him, and Richard watched the two grin at each other. “Read me the story,” Lucien told his namesake, as he settled in to the recliner, breathed deeply, and closed his eyes.

Rose looked at Aaron and said, “I will be your minder, let’s go.” After Aaron picked up some cold packs, they walked up the stairs. Hugh looked at Gus, grinned, “Need any help there Gus?” “No, I am good. No arguing from me.” Much to his surprise, Alice walked him to the back bedroom, helped him position his arm on a couple of pillows, turned off the light, closed the door. 

Once Alice was back in the sunroom, James suggested that several of them gather in the Surgery to discuss Lucien’s condition and develop plans for the next few days. Alice, Richard, and Hugh joined him. Alice showed them her notes since he had arrived in Ballarat, and they compared physical examination numbers to the last couple of days in hospital. “Lucien has been in a cocoon here. He has not left the house except to go to the backyard. We had his car parked elsewhere for his arrival, and he has not asked about any incidents that occurred in Ballarat when he was abducted. The people here are those he knows, is comfortable with, and we have not ‘rocked the boat’ with any new people. Richard, when do we start letting Lucien have more exposure to Ballarat and its environs?” Alice asked. “My thinking is in a couple of days. I hope he will bring up wanting to do some trips away from the house, on his own. I want this to unfold at his own pace, not ours,” Richard told the group of physicians.

While the naps were underway, Joseph walked to the sunroom, opened his journal and began writing. He was still processing his unanticipated episode with the Major and Jean the other evening. He knew what he wanted to say, had practiced it, and then lost it, big time. But they both helped him recover somewhat. Needed to continue to think about what happened. Write about it. 

Richard saw Joseph writing, staring into space, a few tears in his eyes, and sat down next to him. He put a hand on his, and looked at him, “Do we need to walk and talk, Joseph?” “Would you Richard?” “Of course, lets head to the back yard and chat a while. I know about your visit to Jean and our Major the other evening. Tell me what you are thinking,” Richard told him, looking at him, watching Joseph begin to struggle. “Who um told you?” “I have my sources and it was neither Jean nor Lucien. So begin for me.” “Richard, it has been nearly three weeks since the Major returned, why now? Don’t you think I would have had issues earlier than this? Are you going to tell me everyone is on their own schedule, to process his return at our own pace? You know that does not help me, it really doesn’t,” Joseph told him, almost grimacing as the words exited his mouth. 

“No, Joseph, I was not going to take that direction with you. What I am thinking is this – the Major was coming home, to Ballarat, where you first gained an understanding of your nightmares, with the Major, Jean, Mattie and Danny helping you, letting you stay here with them. And you are staying with them, once again, and you are feeling vulnerable, uncertain. Keep writing, get our Major involved with you, writing, talking. He is going to require considerable assistance in the near future. He is hold up here, in this house, for the short term. And I want that to be the case. But in a day or two, I hope he will ask us to take him out, into Ballarat and to Jean’s place and then to the countryside. The more of us who are here to help him the better – and you will play a major role for me. I think that will help you feel stronger, more in control of yourself.”

Jean and Rose were laughing as the popcorn was cooking. They were trying to decide how much to pop, who would be good ‘stringers’ and not hurt their hands in the process. Jean found some large needles, colored thread, loaded up several needles and took the corn to the backyard. Stretched out in the lounges were Matthew, Bill, and Danny with Charlie sitting nearby. “I have a job for the coppers in my backyard. Popcorn needs to go on the tree. Who will help Rose and me?” “Mrs. B, we all will. Show us how to do it,” Bill said with a grin. “Jean, do you think I can do such a difficult task? I want payment in biscuits, Aaron’s biscuits. Are there any left?” Matthew chuckled as he asked her. “Yes, there are more. Others are baked waiting for Aaron and Little Blake to decorate them. Don’t know what that batch will look like. Aaron is going to let Blake fancy them up.” 

Joseph placed Jenny in the highchair in the kitchen and began to feed her dinner. She was interested more in watching Jean, Rose, Mattie and Ella putting the finishing touches on dinner. Ella had decided to have a buffet with a couple kinds of meat, salads, veg, and finishing with Ella’s great grandmother’s recipe for a Christmas cake. Matthew was in the kitchen nibbling on the cake when Alice spotted what he was doing. “Matthew?” “Alice, I asked permission already. Ella said it was fine and this cake is just delicious. It has my stamp of approval.” 

“Jean, will you come with me to the piano? I want to play some carols as we all gather for dinner. Has the piano been tuned recently?” “Yes, Lucien, we had it tuned in November. Blake is taking piano lessons and when Mattie is here she helps him practice. He will be surprised that you can play. I don’t know much about music but I think the fellows who tuned it did a fine job,” Alice told him. 

Lucien began playing a variety of carols, at times humming along, with Jean singing the lead, occasionally he sang the lead, then they did a duet. Jean placed her arms around his neck, nibbling on his ear periodically. Mattie and Danny looked at them, and Mattie said, “You two sound like you did years ago. Your voices blend so nicely, and Lucien, you do remember how to play. You are very good.” Blake walked into the room, looked at his Uncle Lucien, and he grinned at him and said, “You know a lot of songs, Uncle Lucien. When did you learn them?” “When I was about your age, sitting right here on this piano bench, with my Mother teaching me. She was a good piano teacher and she also taught me to draw and paint and Blake, she taught me French as well,” Lucien told him, smiling at his namesake. “And Uncle Lucien, her name was Genevieve and my little sister is named ‘Jenny’ after her. Play ‘Jingle Bells’ for me.”

After dinner, the lounge crew finished the popcorn stringing and delivered three long strings to Jean, Rose and Alice for the trees. Lucien and Jean took one popcorn string to their bedroom and carefully placed it on their tree. Aaron and Rose took another string of popcorn to the sunroom for that tree. The final one was given to Alice and Matthew who added it to the tree in the living room. The tree was a bit over dressed, but all agreed it looked like it was sporting decorations for the two years that Lucien Blake missed Christmas at the Blake house.

Blake stood looking at the tree and asked his Uncle Lucien, “Well, is he coming or not?” “Who are you talking about Blake?” Lucien said with a grin. “Come here, sit on my lap and tell me who else needs to come this evening.” James lifted Blake up and gently placed on Lucien’s lap, and he whispered into Lucien’s ear. “So you think that Santa should be here for you and Jenny. Is that so? What about me?” Blake went back to Lucien’s ear, and both of them broke into gales of laughter. At that moment, the doorbell rang, startling Jenny and causing Blake to scramble down from Lucien’s lap. “How did you know that Uncle Lucien? How?” Blake asked him.

A well-dressed Santa walked into the living room, looked around and saw a tearful Jenny and handed her the first present. Amid the tears, she started smiling, looking at Mattie, who began to help her unwrap the gift. Then Blake was handed a present. Smiling at the him, he asked, “I wrote you about my Uncle Lucien. That is him right here. Did you bring him what I asked you to?” A present was handed to Lucien. “Open it Uncle Lucien. You need this, you really do.” When Lucien had the gift open, he showed it to the group – a container of hair cream, a new comb and brush. He broke down in laughter. “How did you know I needed this, Santa?” “Well, Sir, this young man wrote me a long letter about you, that you have not had a Christmas present for two years, and you needed to have at least six presents tonight. This bag contains the rest of them.“ With that delivery to Lucien, the jolly ole man was out the door. 

Jean joined Lucien on the couch and opened the bag containing the gifts and handed them to him one at a time. For some reason, they were numbered. The second gift was a new necktie, in the latest style and color that the gentlemen were wearing. “Jean, I imagine that you told Santa I needed this, right?” She simply smiled at him and shook her head in the affirmative. The third gift was two boxes of the chocolatey sugary treat the two of them enjoyed. “Yes, I know we ran out of that last week. Glad Santa knew we needed more,” Lucien said, smiling, reaching for Jean to kiss. 

Lucien opened the next present and found six comic books, just like he and Matthew had read, and fought over when they were kids. “Well, Matthew, I have not thought about these in um years,” Lucien told him. “And you have the time now to enjoy them, but I want you to share them with me as well. Blake those were darn expensive, I should have held on to ours.” The next package was more books, but this time crossword puzzles. Lucien looked at Alice and told her, “Yes, I will have plenty of time to work on these. Can I borrow your dictionary at times?” “Of course, Dr. Blake,” Alice said. 

The last package was a schematic for a different brace for Lucien’s knee. “Thank you Gus for thinking about this.” “Will be several weeks before I can construct it but have lots of time to design the new one as well as time for your leg to improve.” Lucien stood up, steadied himself on his crutches and said to the group, “Santa was very good to me tonight. Yes, he was and only because you, young man told him about me,” Lucien said, as he put his hand on Little Blake’s head. “I know, Uncle Lucien, he read my letter,” he said as if that letter explained all. 

Rose then stood up and announced to the Blake family, “There is a very special trio of people here in this room, who all belong to ‘The Society of Three.’” Hugh looked at her and said, “Wait, Rose, you are the only newspaper person, and there are more than three women here, so what does that mean? Give us some hints.” “I am the founding member,” she said, looking around the room, then looking directly at him. “The other two members are men, highly educated men,” she said, trying to suppress her laughter. Bill looked at Rose, and said, ”Well, that leave us coppers out of your society. Must involve the docs, don’t you think, Danny and Charlie?” 

Alice smiled at Rose, “You know Bill, you have a right good idea. So, I propose the second member of this illustrious society is Dr. Gus Wilson, esteemed orthopaedic surgeon. Am I right?” “Yes you are, Alice. I am the second member. Earned admittance just last week.” “And obviously, I am the third member,” Aaron said, laughing. “What a trio we are.” 

“Here are your ‘Society of Three’ medallions. Wear them proudly, gentlemen,” Rose said as she placed them around Gus’ and Aaron’s necks. “And where is yours my lady?” Gus asked her, grinning at her. Rose held hers in her hand and both Gus and Aaron jointly placed it around her neck. “May we three never earn this medallion again,” Rose said. “Here! Here!” Aaron said, grinning at both Rose and Gus. The group laughed as they talked about the events that earned them the honor. 

“And, we have a gift for you two. Will you follow us to your bedroom?” Mattie asked Jean and Lucien. Joseph, Mattie and Danny walked them to their bedroom. Of course Lucien got distracted with the mistletoe by the entrance to their room and kissed Jean. Joseph reached for Mattie, grinned and kissed her as well. “Never miss a chance to show her you love her, Joseph,” Lucien told him, grinning. Once they were all inside, Jean and Lucien found, sitting on their bed, a large present with a bright red bow on it. The gift tag was labeled for the two of them from the trio. “Can I open it or do I wait until Christmas Day?” Jean asked. “Yes, please open it now,” Mattie told her, smiling at the two of them. 

Once the package was open, Jean found a new duvet, matching sheets, pillowslips, throw pillows. They were so beautiful, colors matched the bedroom perfectly, and Jean started tearing up. Mattie hugged Jean, and the guys hugged Lucien. “Doc and Auntie Jean, we were here at the beginning, laughed at your retreat to the ‘Beach Cottage’ on so many evenings,” Danny said as he hugged them both. “Major and Jean, you showed me how delightful love can be and um Mattie and I found each other here, thank you,” Joseph said, reaching for Mattie’s hand to hold. “So this is why you told me not to look for these items in Melbourne last week, isn’t it, Mattie? Thank you all so much. Thank you,” Jean told them, wiping a few tears. 

“You know, Mattie and Danny, you were such a help for Jean with my father, endured my terrible, stupid behavior at first, woke me up when I had so many nightmares, watched Jean and I spar to a draw, and then fall in love, so hard, that I still cannot fathom it happened. And you three helped my Jeannie while I was gone, kept looking for me, looking for clues. When I finally did show up, so many pieces were in place for my recovery. Thank you, Joseph, Danny and Mattie. We love you three. Thank you for the marvelous gift,” Lucien told them as the five huddled up and hugged. 

The rest of the Melbourne Four and as well as Gus had slipped into the room. They were all standing quietly, watched the unwrapping of the gift, saw the delight that Jean and Lucien expressed, witnessed the beautiful friendship they shared with the three younger people. “Major and Jean, sorry we crashed your party here. We were just curious what was in that big box that we transported up here on Wednesday morning,” Hugh told them. 

“And there is one more gift for you two,” Joseph said as he handed Jean a medium sized box that was decorated with a bow. Jean just looked at him, smiled, started turning red, and then Lucien walked to her, held her. “Thank you Joseph. I think we both have a good idea what is in there.” Lucien leaned closer to Joseph and whispered in his ear, “We do need them, my good friend.” 

Rose was talking about ‘surprising’ Lucien and Jean in their bedroom and she hoped she was giving them adequate warning about Little Blake invading their space. The bedroom crowd all heard the approach of Little Blake, Rose, Aaron and Jenny. Danny responded initially, “Let’s put them this box on the top shelf of the closet for now.” As he took the box, Little Blake walked into the room. “So what is going on?” as he looked around the room. “Your mommy and daddy got us new sheets and a duvet for the bed for Christmas,” Jean told him, smiling at him. “Oh, is that all. Going to go back to my erector set.” Lucien grinned as Blake walked away. Everyone chuckled, and Joseph thanked Danny for thinking about removing the box which Blake would have undoubtedly wanted to help them open – after all it looked like a present, and it was the season for Christmas presents.

Gus returned to the living room and helped Little Blake build another device with his erector set. “Dr. Gus, I could really use some more pieces for my set. Maybe tomorrow I will have them, do you think?” Gus looked at him, “Blake, I think if you went to bed, slept all night, that might give Santa the time to deliver more presents for you and Jenny. Do you want me to help you get ready for bed?” “I can sleep on the couch and keep an eye out for Santa. How about that?” Joseph walked up to Blake, picked him up and said, “Let’s go to our bedroom and we will all go to bed. How about that?” “Alright Daddy. But I got to tell Uncle Lucien good night first.” 

“I am going to turn in as well. Been a long day, lots of conversation. See all of you in the morning,” Rose said. As she walked out of the living room, Aaron caught her under some of Lucien’s mistletoe, and said, very softly, “Rose Anderson, look where you are standing. May I kiss you on the cheek?” Rose smiled at Aaron, and said “Yes, once, on this cheek,” as she pointed to her cheek. “Yes ma’am, I understand.” He gently kissed her cheek and she smiled at him, “Merry Christmas, Dr. Gage. Your biscuits were lovely. You need to decorate some more.” “And Holiday Wishes to you Rose. I am glad I met you, and thank you for helping me this afternoon. Will you pack my neck and shoulders again tonight?” “Of course I will, let’s get what you need and head up the stairs, Aaron.”

Once Jenny and Blake were asleep, the fun work of putting out their presents began for the adults. Hugh, James, Richard, and Joseph each brought a load of presents from Matthew and Alice’s bedroom. Once they were placed on the couch in the living room, there was no place to sit. “This is incredible. I think we are all celebrating more than Christmas for Jenny and Blake,” Richard said, grinning. “Yes, indeed Richard. This is the Blake family Christmas of 1962, 1963 and 1964 all rolled into one. So much to be grateful for,” Alice told the group. 

Hugh, delivered a large box, that was taped shut, to Lucien. “Now, what would this be, Major? It has your name on it and ‘Do Not Open!’ written on it.” “Yes, these gifts are from me, and I first need to separate out two new wedding bands and two gold chains for the “Do’ tomorrow. Don’t want to lose these. Give them to Matthew or Alice for safe keeping, since they are our MCs for tomorrow. Then there are three more for Jean. I want you to place them under our tree in the bedroom. And the rest of them you will need to help me figure out how to group them under this tree,” Lucien told Hugh, who, by now, had a perplexed look on this face. 

“Major, do you and Jean have the present I left with you on Monday evening?” Joseph asked. “Yes, Joseph, it is in our closet, on the floor, I think. If it is not there, ask Jean.” Jean walked into the room with it, “Great minds think alike, Joseph. Here you go. Now, everyone, has every hiding place in the house been checked, and double checked? This tree is just so beautiful, lovely, isn’t it Lucien?” “Yes, Jeannie, more beautiful than I remembered.” 

After all of the presents were distributed, Lucien stared at the nearly over-decorated tree in the living room, occasionally wiping his eyes, shaking his head, sighing. Richard sat down next to him on the couch, and asked, “Major, talk to me. What can we do to help you?” Very quickly the POW team, as well as Gus, Alice, Matthew and Jean were surrounding the couch. Jean and Joseph had their hands on Lucien’s shoulders. He felt for Jean’s hand, and quickly covered it with his. “Um, well, I think it is beginning to sink in, I am alive, thanks to all of you. I have a home to return to thanks to the Jean, Alice, Matthew, Rose, and the group session folks. I know I should be dead. My presence in hospital nearly killed Aaron,” Lucien said as he began to look at the floor. 

Jean started talking to Lucien, quietly, he nodded that he was hearing her, but he continued to stare at the floor. Gus then walked up to him, knelt in front of Lucien, took his head in his hands, pulled his head to where he could look at him, made him open his eyes, “Blake, look at me. Talk to me, talk to us. I know you are in there.” “Gus, I am trying my best not to crawl into a dark hole, but it seems easier to do that than to fight my way out right now. I don’t deserve what I have here, all of you in Ballarat for the holidays, all the love that I feel from each of you. I let myself be abducted, I did not fight that man, I let him drug me – I did not fight for Jean. I left her alone, so alone,” Lucien said in a rapid fire cadence. 

“Blake, listen up! You did your best and made it back to us alive. I contend you did fight for Jean, for all of us. You are remembering what happened to you. Bloody Hell, Blake, you have just been with us for three weeks. Look where you are now. Give yourself some credit – you are here, in the Blake house, for Christmas. We are going to celebrate, _yes – we – are_ ,” Matthew told him and the group. 

Lucien looked at Matthew, put his hand on his shoulder wiped his eyes, and said, “Thank you, Matthew, my friend, our housemate, and yes, I think my brother. Thank you, all of you, for stopping my descent into –“ he stopped, beginning to sob. Richard handed him a handkerchief, hugged him. “Major, we are all in this together. We are not going to let you go down that hole, we are not. Now I expect you to write in your journal tonight – let Joseph help you. He still owes me some writing from earlier today.”

Hugh, James and Alice brought a tray with shot glasses of whisky into the room. After everyone had one, Matthew made the toast, “To my good friend Lucien Blake. We are all delighted you are back in the Blake house with us. Not so certain I claim you as a brother, but darn close to it. To Blake!”


	42. The 'Do'

Chapter 42 The ‘Do’ 

After Matthew delivered his toast for Blake, the atmosphere lightened somewhat, with Lucien thanking both Gus and Matthew for throwing him a line once again to pull himself up and out of the dark hole. Jean stood next to her man, holding his hand, looking at him. “Lucien, we are all here to help you. You deserve to be happy, to be home with the Blake family, to be loved by me. You do,” Jean told him. Hugh walked up to his Major and reminded him about the first day in hospital. “Major, the first day, when you asked me why the four of us were up all night with you, why would we do that? I told you because you deserved our help, even if you did not know who we were. You deserved it. And you deserve our help now. Major, if you did not protect us, fight for us, so many years ago, we would not be physicians, not be helping people the way we do today.” Richard, James and Joseph also spent time talking with Lucien, hoping something they said would open a door for him to see, to understand he did fight for Jean, fought for all of them once again. He came back, alive, albeit damaged, but alive. 

While Gus waited his turn to chat with Lucien, he began talking with both Alice and Matthew. “Gus, how is the wrist treating you? I think the swelling in your fingers is less, do you agree?” Alice asked him. “Alice, I think so, I have not been using the hand very much. I wanted to thank both of you for letting all of us invade your turf. This has to be so strange for you and Matthew. Living in the same house with just Jean and Rose for two years and now add in Lucien, Aaron and me. How are you two managing?” “Gus, once we get our bedroom back, I think Alice and I will be fine. Didn’t realize how many presents we agreed to hide!” Matthew told him, smiling at Alice. 

Gus walked up to Jean and Lucien, hugged them, and said, “Blake, you need anything tonight, you know where I will be, right?” “Yes, Gus, I do. Please don’t give up on me, you have the ability to wake me up, make me realize that I am able to change my behavior, to stop the slide down the dark hole. One of these days, I am going to stop myself – not need all of you reminding me that what I am trying to do is not a good strategy,” Lucien told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Jeannie, let’s go to our bedroom, sit on the couch and enjoy our Christmas tree. I want you to open one of my presents tonight. Can I open one of yours?” Lucien asked her, with the little lost boy look he sometimes sported. “Yes, good idea. I am ready to be surprised. I have not tried to get you to tell me a thing have I?” Jean told him, reaching for his face to kiss. “No, you haven’t. I remember how persistent you were when you fixed your mind on finding out something, like about Jean’s Place. Do you recall that, my love?” ‘Of course I do. Even tried to get you to talk to me when you were dopey from pain medication, but you kept silent even then,” Jean told him, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Whoops, need to stop right here. Gotta kiss my very favorite lady.” Lucien stopped Jean under the mistletoe at the entry of their bedroom and kissed her not once but three times. “Never going to get tired of telling you, my love, how much I love you, how much I need you, how beautiful you are. Every day we are together is a very special time, for both me and you.” They got situated on the couch, Lucien had Jean take the brace off of his leg, and she handed him a small package, and asked, “Lucien, which one can I open?” Lucien pointed at another small package, with a beautiful bow on the top. 

“You first, Jean. Open it, please.” Once the package was open, Jean discovered a beautiful diamond necklace. “Oh, Lucien, you should not have, oh my, this is just so um gorgeous. Thank you,” Jean told him, beginning to sniffle, wiping the tears. Lucien reached to her face, wiped a few more tears, and then smiled and said, “Jeannie, I love you, thank you for waiting for me to come home, for believing in me, making me a better man. Do you like it?”

“Lucien, you silly boy, why wouldn’t I love it? The diamond is just, um well so large,” she said as her eyebrow elevated. “You are giving me the look, Jean. What?” Lucien asked her, pushing his hair down, in his typical nervous gesture. “Lucien, this necklace has to be so expensive.” “And you, my love are worth it. _You are worth it_. I thought it so lovely, I could picture you wearing it, the two of us saying our vows tomorrow, later going out for a special meal, yes, you will look so lovely in it.. A beautiful necklace for my gorgeous girl. I can never repay you for waiting for me, believing that I would return, supporting me, helping me on my return. That is why I want to have our ‘Do’ tomorrow afternoon. I want to tell you, in the presence of our family and friends, how much you mean to me. Let me put it on you, there, so beautiful, on my gorgeous girl,” Lucien told her, as he kissed her, held her. 

“Here, my handsome boy open this.” When Lucien unwrapped his present, he discovered a gold watch fob for his pocket watch, the watch Thomas had given him when he was just a ten years old, the one that Bill and Peter had recently discovered in Henderson’s cabin. “Oh Jeannie, yes, thank you. I have my watch back and now a new chain. I will wear trousers, a shirt, and waistcoat tomorrow so I can show it off. What are you going to wear?” “I have a new dress. Mattie and Joseph helped me select it last week when we went shopping.” “You did not show it to me then. If I recall, you came back to the POW suite without a package of any size. Can I see it now?” 

“Lucien, you are just going to have to wait until tomorrow,” as Jean leaned into Lucien to kiss him. “Merry Christmas, Lucien. You are home, with me, and this is um getting overwhelming. Tears of joy. I will settle in a minute or two.” “Jean, let me hold you, kiss you, comfort you. Your necklace looks so beautiful on you. Did I tell you that?” Lucien asked her, with a silly look on his face. “I think about four times so far, Lucien Blake, my love.”

Eventually they moved to their bed, put the softer brace on Lucien’s leg and got as close to each as other as they could. “Lucien, do you hear our guests laughing, probably drinking your scotch, relaxing. It has been so long since they were all here, enjoying themselves, and not discussing how to find you, help you get back to me. So long. I didn’t know when that would ever happen again,” Jean told him as she nibbled on his ear. 

“Jeannie, you can nibble on me anywhere, do you know that? This has been such a good Christmas Eve, thank you. And wait, just you wait, I finally figured out who Santa was. Stupid me. That was Cec, wasn’t it? I am right, I know it. And wait, you won’t believe this, he came here once when I was just about the same age as Little Blake. I am certain my mother asked him to pay me a visit. My father would never, ever do something that like, that a child would be delighted in, never.“ Jean told him, “Yes, it was Cec. He even got dressed in Alice and Matthew’s bedroom, can you believe that?” “No way, Alice has certainly gotten into the spirit of Christmas this year. Has to be the influence of Matthew and you. They both seem happy, so glad they are living with us.”

“Do you like your gifts that Santa brought you, my handsome boy?” “Of course, I do. And thank you for including Blake in the visit. Do you think he still believes in Santa?” “Well, he wrote the longest letter to give to Santa explaining who you were, why he was writing about you, what you needed, and the fact you have missed two Holiday seasons. Mattie said he spent hours working on it. I have the letter. We will need to get it framed after the holidays. Maybe put it in here, what do you think?” “Yes, of course. And I saw Rose taking pictures. I bet she got some of Santa, Blake and me, don’t you think? Maybe get some prints, put a couple of them with his letter.”

They both woke up early on Christmas morning, Jean was cuddled close to Lucien, he had an arm around her, smiling at her, tracing his hand over her, triggering goose bumps. “Lucien, I want to open more of my presents. Let’s get up, sit on the couch, admire our tree. And I want to give you one of your presents first. Let me go get it,” Jean told him, with childlike enthusiasm. Jean returned with a box, handed it to him, and he quickly had it open. “Look at this. A new pair of lounge pants, or whatever you call these. So smart looking and I will put them on right now.” “That was my idea, Lucien. I have a feeling some young man will pay us a visit this morning, need you to be somewhat dressed, well for that matter, I do as well,” Jean told him, as she put a robe on, brushed her hair a bit. 

Once they were sitting on the couch, Lucien asked, “Who gets the first present?” “I do Lucien, which one can I open?” Lucien pointed to two presents, and told her, either one, they are both for you, my love.” Jean opened the smaller one and found new diamond earrings to complement her new necklace. “Oh my land, Lucien Blake, what um well, these are gorgeous, and um –“ Jean stopped, wiped some tears. “Here, if you are going to cry, you might as well open this one as well,” Lucien told her smiling, pushing some hair back from her eyes, kissing her. The next package contained a diamond bracelet. He took it from the package and placed it around her wrist and carefully closed the latch. “Jeannie Blake, I really do love you, I have from my earliest days back in Ballarat. Thank you for not leaving me then and for waiting for me now. Without you, I would not be complete. I know that, I understand that, I do.” “Lucien, that was just beautiful, I wish one of us had written it down – to use this afternoon,” Jean told him, kissing him. “Yes, that was pretty good, wasn’t it? I think I can remember it,” Lucien told his love, flirting with her, thinking about taking her back to bed. “How about a lie down, my beautiful lady?” 

They both heard a knock at the door, and a child’s voice asked, “Auntie Jean are you awake?” “Yes we are Blake, come on in,” Lucien answered, grinning at Jean, and mouthing, ‘You warned me.’ Blake walked quickly to the bed, found no one there. He looked around the room and spotted the two of them on the couch. He walked up and said, “Can I stay with you?” “Of course you can Blake. Get between us. Watch your Uncle’s knee. He does not have the brace on,” Jean told him as they placed him between the two of them. “I got so tired of waiting for Jenny to wake up, to see what is under the tree for us. Do you know that girls sleep late, so late, all of the time? Miss all of the fun.” Jean and Lucien just smiled at each other, while Lucien held Blake tightly and kissed the top of his head. 

As Jean and Lucien talked to Blake, he cuddled into his Uncle and fell asleep. “And who sleeps late? I wonder how much sleep he got last night?” Jean asked Lucien. They chatted about their ‘Do’ that would happen in the afternoon, trying to figure out the new vow part of it. Lucien thought maybe they should just forget that part, Jean said we at least need to try to come up with something. Lucien suggested that he ask everyone there to say something about them. Jean quickly replied that we will be in mixed company and there will be a four year old listening, watching. Not a good idea. 

Nearly an hour later, another knock on their door, “Major, are you and Jean awake? We are missing our son. Is he in there with you?” “Come on in, Joseph and Mattie. We have a sleepy little boy on our couch with us. Maybe he belongs to you two?” “Listen, we are so sorry. Lucien, he has not had to share Jean with you in over two years. I imagine he does not even remember when you were here,” Mattie told them. “Jean warned me about this, made me get dressed before we got on the couch. And she told me about the letter he wrote in my behalf. I am delighted he pleaded my case with the jolly ol’ elf,” Lucien told Mattie, smiling at Blake, sleeping on his lap. Jenny held her arms out, wanting Joseph to let her go to Lucien’s outstretched arms. She looked at both Jean and him and said, “Lou Lou, Jean, Luv.” “That is quite a present for the both of us,“ Jean told Jenny as she gave her a kiss.

“Major, we have a present for the two of you,” Joseph said, as he handed a package to them. Jean opened it and found a framed picture of the four of them. The second framed picture was of Blake and Jenny. “Oh my goodness, this is just marvelous, so thoughtful, thank you,” Jean said, as she reached for Mattie’s hand to hold. Jenny looked at the picture and pointed to it, ‘me’ ‘Blake’ and grinned at the adults. Then she looked at her sleeping brother and pointed a finger at Blake and pushed it into his head enough to rouse him. Blake began moving around, rubbing his eyes, and said, “I was not asleep.” 

“We um had these pictures taken in early November, several weeks before you showed up in hospital. We are so pleased these are not only for Jean but for you as well. Not in our wildest dreams did we think this to be a possibility. We are both so glad you are back, in this house, with all of us. Jean, thank you so much for sharing him with all of us,” Joseph told them.

Another knock on the door, “Are you awake yet?” “Yes, Matthew, we are awake. Come on in,” Lucien told him. The door swung open and Alice brought in tea service for the four of them, not realizing Joseph and Mattie and the kids were already there. “Didn’t realize we needed to take a number to visit your bedroom,” Matthew told Lucien, laughing at him as he held Jenny in his arms and little Blake, still looking half asleep, with his head on his lap. “Lucien, you have your hands full this morning. And those two youngster are both so quiet, calm for a Christmas morning. What are you doing to them?” Alice asked. “I think Blake is waiting for Jenny to wake up and in the process, fell asleep himself,” Mattie explained. “Your picture – is so nice, so thoughtful. The children are growing up so quickly, Mattie,” Alice told her, smiling, placing a hand on Jenny’s head, who turned and smiled at her. 

Joseph looked at Jenny and said, “Jenny, who is that? Can you say her name?” “Al – s and Matt Matt” came from the child’s mouth, then a big smile, and a giggle. “Did I hear right, she knows both of us?” Matthew said, with a chuckle. “Is that our present?” “One of your presents, but there are others for you to open this morning, Matthew and Alice. But that one is a surprise to us as well as you,” Joseph said. “Matthew, I um family, I think I finally understand how good it can be, taken me a long time, but this feels so right, this morning,” Alice said, smiling at the Lucien and Jean, and the McCann family, and reaching to hug Matthew. 

“Anyone getting hungry? I know there are two breakfast casseroles in the fridge. Just need to pop them in the oven,” Jean said to the bedroom group. As Jean walked into the kitchen, she heard noise, chatter, smelled the baking casseroles, found both Aaron and Rose fixing the fruit. “Good Morning,” Aaron said to Jean, smiling. “We found the note on the table about the casseroles and I put them in the oven about 30 minutes ago. They smell delightful, don’t they? But I can’t find the tea kettle.” “Aaron, I have it, and will return it right now,” Alice told him. “How are you this morning?” “Dr. Harvey, I am feeling pretty good. Breakfast is about ready.” 

There was a slow trickle of hungry people into the kitchen. After eating, they settled into the sunroom or the living room. Jenny and Blake opened their presents from Santa and found they he had not forgotten them. Then Blake delivered presents to the adults, some were useful, others gag gifts. Matthew and Alice were given pictures of the McCann family, much to their delight. Jenny was playing with the empty boxes until she opened her Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Blake and Gus were very happy with the additional erector set pieces. Of course, there were puzzles and books for the little ones as well. The last present under the tree was for Mattie. Blake walked up to his mother and gave it to her and said, “Mommy, I think it is from Daddy. Open it.” Mattie opened the package and discovered tickets to a music concert in Sydney plus two nights in a hotel in a couple of months. “Joseph, this is marvelous. But what about these little ones?” Mattie asked. “We can stay here with our Aunties and Uncles, just everyone –. They will let us stay, I know they will,” Blake assuredly stated.

By mid-morning, activity in the backyard increased as Cec, Vincent, Arnie and Cliff along with Matthew began setting up for the ceremony. An archway that was used for Matthew and Alice’s wedding was taken from the garage, secured in place, a couple of tables for the liquor, food and Lucien’s gifts were added. Kate, Ella and Allie decorated the archway with fresh flowers. Cec fancied up the tables, added glasses, liquor, plates and forks. Matthew gave Cec the bundle of handkerchiefs with a request to distribute them before the ceremony began. Food would be added at the last minute.

Peter and Bill were watching the front of the Blake house, and greeted Paul, Diane, Carol and her husband, who had driven from Melbourne. Bill walked them through the house, pointing out the living room, kitchen and sunroom. In the sunroom, they joined Gus, Aaron, and Rose who were drinking tea, chatting, and laughing about Blake and Jenny and their delight in the gifts that Santa had left for the two of them. “Pretty informal today, tea and food in the kitchen, Christmas trees are here and in the living room. Just make yourself at home. The ‘Do’ will be outside where they are setting up now,” Rose told the new comers. 

About an hour before the ceremony was to begin, the POW group and Gus walked into Jean and Lucien’s bedroom. “Major, Jean sent us to help you get dressed. Is that alright?” Richard asked. “Of course it is. Jean picked out my trousers, shirt, waistcoat. What do you think about the brace, Gus?” Lucien replied. “I think we take it off, I will tell James and Hugh how to wrap your leg, you will wear only one shoe, that will keep you from putting any pressure on it. I brought the compression wrap I want to use,” Gus told the group. James and Hugh followed Gus’ instructions, and quickly had the leg and knee stabilized. Lucien was into his trousers, shirt, no tie, and waistcoat with the new watch fob and his pocket watch. “I see you combed your hair, Major,” Joseph told him. “Yes, Joseph, that namesake of mine, your son, told me to comb it for today, how I needed to look sharp for Jean. Once he is gone, back to my wild and crazy look, I think.” Joseph handed him a handkerchief for his trouser pocket. Lucien did not notice the ‘Blake’ on it. This was the first of two dozen that Richard and Matthew had purchased just for today’s ‘Do’ and to be given to the guests for the afternoon ceremony, unbeknownst to either Lucien or Jean.

Hidden in Rose’s bedroom closet was Jean’s new dress, safely away from Lucien’s investigative gaze. This was her old bedroom as well as Lucien’s boyhood bedroom, probably very appropriate for the place to get dressed for their renewal ‘Do.’ Mattie joined her after leaving Jenny with Aaron, and Blake with Danny, Bill and Charlie for the short term. Once Gus was finished helping Lucien, he would take over minding Blake. Blake would be carrying the new wedding bands to Matthew and Alice. He had reminded his mother and Gus that he knew how to do that job. He had done it for Matthew and Alice already. 

Jean had purchased a new, green dress, with a similar cut to the one she had years ago. She recalled fondly the ‘look’ Lucien gave her when he first noticed she was wearing it. She really connected with the new dress on Saturday when Joseph and Mattie went shopping with her. After helping Jean put her hair up, Rose put the new diamond necklace around her neck, Jean had the new diamond earrings on as well as the diamond bracelet Lucien had bestowed on her for Christmas. That man spent a nifty sum on her for Christmas, that is for certain. Well, for that matter, he had on everyone. 

Lucien and his POW mates walked into the backyard, Kate stopped him and pinned a single red rose on his lapel. “Dr. B. do you have a handkerchief?” she asked him quietly. “Yes, I do, Kate. But I will need a second one, I am certain. Thank you for asking,” he said, with a smile, took a big breath. From the other side of the backyard, Mattie and Rose handed Jean a small bouquet of fresh flowers from her flower beds. “Ready, Jean? You look so pretty today,” Mattie asked, smiling at her friend. “Oh my yes, Mattie, let’s get this show on the road,” Jean said grinning with delight. Cec walked up to Jean, gave her a hug, handed her a handkerchief, and said, “Santa sends his best wishes Jean,” and kissed her cheek.

Alice and Matthew stood near the archway that was constructed by the Group Session team. It was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers from their flower beds as well as the Blake house beds. Alice called the group to order, and asked both Lucien and Jean to approach the archway. Lucien was accompanied by the POW team. He carefully walked on the grass, positioned himself under the archway and awaited his bride. Everyone could see he was beginning to get emotional and the ‘Do’ had not even commenced. He pulled out the handkerchief that Kate gave him and wiped his eyes.

Then Jean, accompanied by Mattie and Rose, walked towards Lucien, and he said, very loudly, “My God, Jeannie, you are so beautiful. The dress, oh my, yes, gorgeous green color, oh my.” As Jean got closer to him, he reached for her hand, pulled it to him and kissed her wedding ring. “Jeannie, you um are just –“ Jean reached to his face, wiped some tears from his face. “Lucien, we have not even started the ‘Do’ and you are tearing up.” “Jean, I told you this was going to be a two handkerchief ceremony. Your dress, your hair, the jewelry, well, I ah you surprised me.” As the crowd gathered closer to them, they all clapped their approval, taking their cue from Cec.

Matthew began the ceremony with a memory. “I recall Christmas Day 1960, right here in this house. Jean’s final present for Lucien was a calendar with March 25, 1961 circled. Jean told him that would be their wedding day. So, today marks four years that these two, my very dear friends, began to formalize something that many of us already knew – they were a pair who fell headlong in love, they were destined to be together. We are here today to witness the renewing of their vows.” 

“We begin with the March 25 vows. Lucien, will you?” Lucien, took a big breath, smiled at Jean, pushed his hair down, took another breath and began, “I Lucien Ratcliffe Blake take thee Jean Mary Beazley to be my lawful wedded wife, To have and to hold from this day forward for better for worse for richer or poorer To love and to cherish till death do us part.” As he approached the last words, his voice became quieter, his breathing a bit ragged, and when he completed the ‘till death do us part’ he reached for Jean and held her. “That is why, my love, we are doing this today. I um well, “ Jean put her fingers over his lips, looked at him, and said, loud enough that all could hear, “Lucien, you are alive, here at our house, with our friends, and we are going to celebrate your return, celebrate us. You are a fighter, a survivor, my love. Don’t forget that, do you hear me?” “Yes, I do, Jean.”

Jean looked at Matthew and Alice, took a deep breath, and she began her March 25 vows. “I Jean Mary Randall Beazley take thee Lucien Ratcliffe Blake to be my lawful wedded husband, To have and to hold from this day forward for better for worse for richer or poorer, To love and to cherish till death do us part,” as she competed the last line, she reached for Lucien’s hand and kissed his wedding ring. “I love you more now, than on our wedding day, do you know that?” “I DO!” Lucien said very loudly. Laughter erupted from all areas of the back yard.

Alice told the group about the wedding band exchange. “Now, with the assistance of Rose and Mattie, they will remove their wedding bands, place them on a gold chain. Jean will give Lucien her ring, and he will wear it around his neck. Lucien will give Jean his ring, and she will wear it around her neck. As many of us know, Jean wore Lucien’s wedding band since the day his ring was found on September 27, 1962 until just recently when she returned it to him on December 11, 1964. 

Gus handed Little Blake the new wedding bands and he proudly marched up to Matthew and Alice and handed them the rings. He looked at his Uncle Blake and handed him another handkerchief, grinned at both Lucien and Jean, touched each of their hands, walked back to stand beside Gus, who hugged him, kissed his head. 

Matthew placed Jean’s new wedding band in Lucien’s hand. He began, “With this wedding band, I celebrate the renewal of our vows. I want you, I want everyone to know, I love you, Jean Blake,” as he placed the ring on her finger, kissed the ring, and then kissed her. Alice placed in Jean’s hand Lucien’s new wedding band. “With this band, I renew our vows. I waited such a long time for you, Lucien Blake. Thank you for coming back to me, to all of us.” She kissed his ring, and then kissed her love. Both of them made it through the ring exchange without much difficulty. 

Joseph then stepped forward and said, “Now, I do pronounce you husband and wife, Major and Jean.” The crowd laughed along with Joseph who was chuckling. Lucien looked at him, shook his hand, and laughed as well. “Jeannie, did you know this was part of our ‘Do’?” Jean shook her head no, smiled at Mattie, who shrugged her shoulders. 

Matthew, clearing his throat, said to the assembled Blake family, “Now, the last part of this ‘Do’ is the restating of the vows. I think we may need to help the both of them, give them plenty of time to get themselves together. Richard, James, Hugh and Joseph surrounded Lucien, smiling at him. Matthew walked over to join them. “Major, you can do this. Just start and tell her what you feel,” Richard said. Lucien pulled Jean’s hand to his face, kissed the new wedding band, and began. “Um, yes, well, I want ah to tell you Jean Blake, I –“ He stopped speaking, looked at his love, and Jean wiped tears from his eyes. “Jeannie, can’t do this, just can’t.” He wiped the tears from his face. Richard handed him another handkerchief. “How many bloody handkerchiefs are there? I keep getting fresh, new ones, all saying ‘Blake’ on them,” Lucien asked the group. Matthew looked at him, answered him, “As many as it takes my friend.”

Alice, Rose and Mattie moved closer to Jean, hoping they would give her the moral support she needed. She took a big breath, looked at Lucien, took his hand, kissed the new wedding band, smile broadly at him. “Lucien Radcliffe Blake, I love you. Why don’t we do this together? Just like we talked this morning. I will start. ” Jean looked at Alice, Rose and Mattie, and then at Matthew, took a breath. “I loved you from the first day you showed up on the doorstep of this house. And all these years later, I love you even more. We both waited so long to find each other.” 

Lucien interrupted Jean and smiling at her, “Jean, I am so glad I did not fire you as my father’s housekeeper, and that you were a slow decision maker, you did not leave me, alone, in this house, absolutely clueless about um –“ “Yes, um and you were such a pain in my neck, you saw how terribly stubborn and sassy I could be, and you um helped me, would not let me change my mind, not only about my neck but about you and me being together.” Jean wiped her eyes, and Alice handed her a fresh handkerchief. Lucien looked at Jean, smiled, kissed her, took a deep breath.

“Jeannie, I realized if I am the best Lucien Blake I can be each day, for you, I could ah have a friend and a partner and a lover, in you, Jean – someone who enriches my life, who will tell me off when needed, who will listen to me unpack my day, someone I can love with all my heart. You taught me to believe in myself, you did, my love,” Lucien told her, less emotional than at first, but still tearing up as he looked at Jean. They kissed again. 

“Lucien, you helped me understand that I could be more than your father’s housekeeper, you encouraged me to make my own decisions, to be an independent woman, to not let the petty gossip ruin what the two of us felt for each other, and you gave me the inner strength and courage to survive the last 26 months. You did, I had to be strong for you um ah “ Jean stumbled to a halt, Lucien started wiping her face. As he finished, another handkerchief appeared in his hand. This one was from Aaron, who hugged them both, let them smile at Jenny, kiss her hands, and then he returned to stand next to Gus and Blake.

“You showed me that love can happen between two totally different people, different backgrounds, and I um am so pr- um proud of how you kept this household going, kept our friends close by, um well –“ Lucien stopped, wiping tears, once again. 

“Jeannie Blake, I really do love you, I have from my earliest days back in Ballarat. Thank you for not leaving me then and for waiting for me now. Without you, I would not be complete. I know that, I understand that, I do. And I remembered those lines from this morning, didn’t I?” “Yes, you did, my handsome boy.” 

Jean wiped his face, smiled at him and then said, “Yes we both survived this long, dreadful ordeal. But this could not have happened except for the help of each one of you standing here, in our backyard, with us.. We want to acknowledge each of you, – “ “and after this ‘Do’ is complete, I have something for each of you on the table near our dear friend, Mr. Cec Drury. Matthew, Alice, and Rose – thank you for staying in this house. And Matthew and Alice got married while I was gone, that was hard to wrap my head around at first,” Lucien said with a smile. “Uncle Lucien, I carried their rings when they got married, right here, last year when I was a little kid. Did you know that?” Blake asked, walking up to his Uncle and standing next to him, smiling at Matthew and Alice. “Well, yes I did. Your Auntie Jean told me,” Lucien told him, grinning at the group. 

“And our friends, Cliff and Allie, Vincent and Ella, and Arnie and Kate who continue to take care of me, take care of all of us, this house, Jean’s Place, and um yes, even put in two bathrooms in the Blake house while Lucien was away. Thank you,” Jean told them.

Lucien, took a huge breath, looked at his POW mates, and said, “James, Hugh, Joseph and Richard – there are um no words to explain how I ah feel about you four, I just –“ Lucien stopped talking, started looking at the ground, and heard a very loud voice boom at him, “Blake, Blake, don’t you dare! You look at me right now!” The entire group was startled, and Jenny began to cry. 

Quickly pulling his head up, Lucien looked at Gus, took another breath, and said, “Yes, I hear you Gus. Thank you. I think everyone heard you.” Danny walked up to him and handed him another handkerchief. “Here Doc, I think you might need it,” he smiled at him and then stood near Rose and Mattie. “Yes I do. Thank you Danny.” 

Aaron walked Jenny away from the crowd, talked with her, and she settled down. When they returned, Gus handed Aaron a handkerchief for Jenny. “Jenny is fine now,” Aaron told the group, standing where she could see both Joseph and Mattie.

Jean gave Lucien some more time to pull himself together, and she looked at several others standing in the backyard. “I want to acknowledge more of the Melbourne contingent – Gus, Aaron, Diane, Carol, Paul – for your thoughtful care of Lucien and me, for friendships renewed, for new friendships established. And our family – Mattie, Danny, Charlie who lived in our house with me and Lucien. Bill and Peter who have become my protectors, my friends, and of course, our small tykes, Blake and Jenny. Thank you for coming to hospital and visiting your Uncle and Auntie.” Blake beamed up at Jean, reached for her hand. Jenny heard her name, and Aaron pointed at Lucien and Jean. “Lou Lou, Jean” and smiled at them.

“And, um dear Cec, I have known you since I was Little Blake’s age, thank you for taking care of Jean and me over the years, for being such a dear friend,” Lucien said, smiling at Cec. 

Matthew and Alice walked back to their initial MC positions. Looking at both Jean and Lucien, Matthew began, “Since Alice and I are the MCs of this gathering, we will have the last say. Blake, we all banded together – to keep you alive in our hearts and minds, to keep looking for crumbs, clues, matching up coppers and doctors from the very beginning to investigate your disappearance, and um when you came back to all of us, my goodness gracious, Lucien you have given us a humdinger of a case to solve.” 

“Dr. Blake, when Jean asked me to move into the house, take over your surgery, your POW mates asked me to see your patients, and Matthew asked me to be the acting Police Surgeon, I assumed, in error, I would do that for a month or so. Little did I know over two years later, I would still be doing all of those duties and that well, um would have married Matthew, have such good friends in Jean and Rose, and feel like I am part of a very large family. Thank you Jean and Richard for opening both Matthew and my eyes and hearts to each other,” Alice said, smiling at Matthew, who promptly kissed her. “Uncle Matthew, kiss her again,” Little Blake said, laughing, running up to them and hugging the two of them. 

Matthew told the group, “Listen up. Pictures up here, food and drink back there, and Lucien has tokens of his appreciation for all of us after that. Enjoy the conversation, Blake’s liquor, and some marvelous cakes and biscuits from Kate, Ella, Allie and Aaron.

Rose spoke up at this point and said, “Picture time. I have a list of photographs I want to take. Don’t go anywhere too far away. Aaron will call out the groups, gather up here and either Aaron or I will take the pictures. The picture taking session continued for 30 minutes or so, with Lucien kissing Jean before and after each photo. Cec was handing out drinks, cake, nibbles, but no gifts, and said “Need for Dr. Blake to tell you about it first. Then you can open it.”

Lucien and Jean stood near Cec’s table and Lucien began to explain his gifts, ”I have been away so long, so many of you took care of my Jeannie, many of you were involved in my care, others in trying to figure out what happened to me, and uh I can never repay you, but I can give you a small token of my affection for each of you. Now, um James, Hugh, Joseph, Richard, Gus, Matthew – these are for you.” When they opened them, each had a pocket watch, engraved with their name and Dec. 4, 1964. Lucien hugged each of them, shook their hands, and of course teared up. He pulled a handkerchief from his trouser pocket to wipe his eyes.

“Aaron, Aaron, – “ Lucien stopped and started tearing up, Hugh handed him a handkerchief. James took over, “Aaron, I am so sorry my phone call placed you in such grave jeopardy. And I delighted that you are now a part of this incredible Blake family.” After he handed Jenny to Joseph, Aaron opened his present, a pocket watch, with his name and Dec. 5, 1964. Aaron walked to Lucien and Jean, hugged them, whispered something in their ears, and he began tearing up. Carol walked up to Aaron and handed him a handkerchief. “Thank you, Carol.”

“Alice, Mattie, and Rose – for you,” Lucien told them. They opened presents to find exquisite pearl necklaces, each one different from the other. “Danny, Charlie, Bill and Peter – for you.” A fine pen and pencil set with their names engraved as well as Dec. 4, 1964. “Allie, Kate and Ella – for you.” They discovered beautiful brooches in their package, all different. “Cliff, Arnie, and Vincent – for you.” Three large boxes went to them, and each had a new electric drill, with a selection of drill bits. 

“Carol, Diane and Paul – for you.” Carol and Diane received lapel watches that they could use during their shifts with patients, and Paul received a pen and pencil set. Each were engraved with their names and Dec. 1964 on them. 

“For Cec – “ Cec opened the box and found a pocket watch with his name and the year 1914 on it. “Cec, Matthew looked in my Father’s old diaries, and found an entry in 1914 that he had taken me to the club with him, you talked to me, served me a root beer. I even behaved myself. Do you remember that?” “Of course, Sir, I fondly recall that day.”

“And um one more gift for my love, Jean, take off your new wedding band, and look on the inside of it please,” Lucien asked her. “Oh my goodness, Lucien, um” and Jean simply stopped, again tearing up. He handed her one of his pocketful of handkerchiefs to wipe the tears. “I will tell you what it says, ‘J & L, Dec. 25, 1964’ and um the way I look at it now, we have two wedding anniversaries to celebrate each year, March 25 and December 25. That will be so lovely. Yes, indeed,” Lucien grinned at Jean, kissed her once again. 

“Blake, please get off of your leg. Sit down and prop it up, please,” Gus told him. Lucien looked at him, grinned, “Yes, Gus. Thank you for reminding me.”

“Uncle Lucien, do Jenny and I get something too? I missed you more than her, cause she’s not as old as me,” Blake told him, crawling into his lap, giving him a hug. “Yes, I do have something for you. Would you like it now?” Lucien asked him. “Yes, please.” “Joseph and Mattie, would you join us. Blake I asked your Daddy and Mommy about this. They told me you were learning how to tell time.” “Uncle Lucien, I am, they are helping me. I really getting pretty good at it. Let me show you.” Lucien pulled his pocket watch from his waistcoat, opened it, and Blake looked at it and then said, “One o’clock.” “Well my goodness, you do know how to tell time. Do you think this will fit your wrist?” Lucien put the new small size wrist watch on his arm, and Blake held his arm up, showed Jean, Mattie and Joseph his gift. “He hugged his Uncle and said, “Thank you. I want to show Dr. Gus.” 

“Joseph and Mattie, I have started an account for Blake and Jenny’s education,” Lucien told them, smiling broadly at his two younger friends. “Major, my goodness, this is a marvelous gift, for both of the children. Thank you,” Joseph told him, hugging him. “You two are so very special to both Jean and me. And of course your kids are well, yes, delightful additions to our family. We want them to have every opportunity for an excellent education,” Lucien told them. 

“Lucien, so thoughtful, thank you so much. Just being back in the house with you and Jean has made both Joseph and me remember when we fell in love, how you helped him, helped each other, the ‘Beach Cottage’ and um-“ Mattie stopped, tearing up some, Joseph hugged her. “And I remember so fondly the day that Lucien and I stood up with you when you were wed, right here in our backyard,” Jean said, reaching for Lucien’s hands to hold. They were all getting teary eyed and Charlie walked up to the foursome, “Any one need this?” as he handed Mattie a handkerchief. “Yes, I do. Thank you Charlie.”

Conversation, drink, and laugher flowed easily all afternoon. The Melbourne and Ballarat contingents got to know each other better, enjoyed the fantastic weather, and kidded Lucien most of the afternoon about the number of handkerchiefs he required. Several of the folks retired to Jean’s kitchen and watched Aaron decorate biscuits, made more for him to decorate, and drank many cups of tea. Danny and Charlie started the grill for an early dinner of seafood and vegetables provided by James, Hugh, Richard and Gus. 

The evening of Christmas day found most of the group in the Blake living room, breathing a sigh of relief that they all made it through the day, finally began to wind down, from a day of over stimulation for everyone except Little Blake. He was still going strong, eating too many biscuits, and being entertained by the crew of adults who adored him. Alice looked at Mattie, smiled at her, “Does he have an off switch?” “Alice, that would be nice, but no. Joseph and I are going to walk him to the bedroom, and stay with him until he goes to sleep. I think Matthew has Jenny and she seems quite content with him.” 

After Blake and Jenny were asleep, the physicians from Melbourne joined Alice, Matthew, Lucien, and Jean to discuss next steps for the Major. There were so many unanswered questions about his disappearance, what he did during his absence, how he survived, how he nearly stumbled into James A&E treatment room on December 4, 1964. Richard, who was the lead physician now that Lucien was out of hospital, tried to impress on Lucien that he needed at least the same amount of time he was gone to figure out what happened. Besides Alice’s careful management of his care, Lucien would be seeing James, Hugh and Richard each week. Twice a month he would be returning to Melbourne for evaluation, attend the POW meetings. Jean would accompany him for those trips as well as Alice and Matthew. 

Richard had also assigned specific tasks to members of the ‘Major Blake’ team, as they were now known. “James, Hugh and Alice – start Lucien on a reading list of new treatments, medications, approaches that he missed during his disappearance. Alice and Matthew – discuss the cases you are investigating, and perhaps start with the skeletal remains in the field. Rose and Bill – provide a reading list of news events from September 1962 forward in hopes that Lucien might read something, make a connection to help him understand what had happened, help fill in the holes in his memory. Matthew, Charlie and Danny – keep working with Lucien on the specifics of the case in Ballarat, Bendigo and Melbourne. Jean – you are to love Lucien, keep the POW team on track for budgets, publications, new proposals.” 

Richard wrapped up the discussion with some comments, “Major, we will have bi-monthly sessions to evaluate how you are doing, and then in six months, I want to have a weekend in Melbourne in the POW suite for all of us to evaluate your condition. As much as you want to charge ahead, we are all going to be cautious with you. I do not want you overwhelmed trying to get caught up too quickly. For the next two weeks, I want you resting, gaining some more weight, relaxing, doing some reading of your choosing, enjoying being home with Jean.” 

Lucien looked at the group, “I am so grateful for all of your help, mapping a path forward for me. I know I need to listen to all of you, and I will try to. My goal by June is to stay out of the dark holes, and if I start down one, I will stop myself, will not need Gus or Matthew bellowing at me. I understand that I deserve your help and I accept it without question. Thank you ever so much.” Lucien reached for Jean’s hand and kissed her new wedding band. “Jeannie, you have my mother’s ring on now as well. Jean, looks so, so beautiful with the new band. I love you. Just delighted we are home, together.”


	43. Slow and Steady

Chapter 43 Slow and Steady 

With the holiday season drawing to a close, nearly all of the guests left Ballarat for Melbourne, and a semblance of a quieter life was reestablished. The Blake household of Alice, Matthew, Rose, Aaron, Jean and Lucien, along with two police officers, settled into their routine. 

Aaron continued to recover on Alice’s schedule, his headache lessening, swimming with Blake and Matthew in the mornings, and on occasion, seeing some of Alice’s POW patients. Alice talked him into coming back every other Thursday afternoon to see the POW patients who required his tropical medicine expertise. 

Once Robert Hannam’s grave marker was received, plans were made to inter his remains in the Ballarat cemetery. Lucien asked Richard, James, Hugh, Matthew, Alice, Aaron, and Jean to be with him. Of course, they all agreed to be there and Danny, Charlie and Bill were present as well. The ceremony was simple, as Lucien was conflicted about what to say, still not understanding his role in the abduction but more convinced that Hannam had taken care of him after the severe head injury was inflicted by the Mystery Man, aka Boris Green. Lucien continued to unpack the burial of Hannam’s remains with Richard for weeks afterwards, wrote about it, and even drew numerous sketches. Richard was fairly certain, there would be more useful information coming from his Major about his disappearance, just hard to predict what would trigger it. Matthew continued to ponder why Hannam was not in prison for the murder of Bert Prentice? Or Llewellyn Sullivan? Why was he still in the army? Still so many unanswered questions.

Jean and Lucien had talked well into the night about Hannam’s internment, all the implications of it. Finally, in an effort to stop him chewing on the events of the past few days, Jean looked him in the eyes, and softly told him, “Lucien Blake, I need your attention, now, right now. I want you, yes, you, to love me. I am going to fall asleep if we don’t get to makin’ out.” She began kissing him on the chest, worked her way to his face, played with his beard, and then moved quickly to play with his erect prick. After kissing Radcliffe, she started to pull her head up towards his and felt gentle pressure from Lucien’s hand on her head. “No, love, not yet. That feels so, um, yes, so good. My land. How do you do that to me? And he is so ready, so fast this evening. Jeannie, let me feel you, don’t want to go too quickly for you. Um yes, Joseph’s box, where is it?” 

When Jean and Lucien began to wake up, the house was very quiet. No conversation, no breakfast smells, no wireless. “Where is everyone this morning? Are we waking up that early?” Jean asked. Lucien looked at the alarm clock and then looked again. “Jeannie, um it is 10. What on earth did we do? We slept so late.” “I loved you my handsome boy until you said ‘Uncle’ last night, that is what we did,” Jean told him as she smothered him in kisses. He rolled towards her and grabbed her arm, started kissing her hand and worked his way to her face. “Bloody Hell, damn knee,” Lucien spit out, very quickly. “Sorry Jean, no brace, and too much pressure on my knee. Sorry.” 

Aaron was walking through the house when he heard the expletives roll from their bedroom. He walked to their door, knocked, and announced. “I know you two are finally awake. Richard called and told me he is arriving early today, wants to talk to all of us before his hours this afternoon. So, folks, get a move on it,” he said, and then broke into laughter. “Aaron Gage, I think you are feeling better, aren’t you?” Lucien asked him, grinning at Jean. “Well, I better be, going to leave in a couple days for Melbourne, right?” 

Richard arrived within the hour and was met by Aaron. “Good morning Richard. I am just the butler this morning. Jean and Lucien are still cleaning up, everyone else is gone, well except Bill and Peter who are lurking around the house.” “You mean to tell me the Major and Jean slept this late? I think that is just marvelous. I want a cup of tea and I will be ready to chat with you. I know Alice left your records on her desk for me. The two of us are thinking that you are ready to go back to Melbourne in the morning. What about that for a plan my friend?” Richard told him, grinning at Aaron and putting his hand on his shoulder. 

“Yes, Richard, I needed the extra weeks to recover, could not have had a better place to stay, but I am ready to get my life back, yes I am,” Aaron said, as he bear-hugged Richard. “Thank you.” Lucien heard the conversation, walked towards the two, and said, “Aaron, so you are well enough to be leaving us? That is such excellent news.” Jean strolled into the room as well and asked, “Anyone for tea, late breakfast? Richard, so good to see you. I overheard that Aaron is going to leave us. That is good news, but also sad news. I have so enjoyed your company, Dr. Gage.”

“Good morning you two sleepy heads. I will talk with Aaron first, you two eat breakfast, and then I will chat with each of you. After that, I want a Jean Blake lunch before my appointments this afternoon. Nothing like ordering the three of you around, is there?” Richard told the three, grinning at them. “But, Richard, you do it so gently,” Blake told his good friend, putting his hand on his shoulder.

After dinner, Alice and Richard huddled in the surgery, completing their discussion on Aaron’s release to Melbourne and their plans for his follow-up. They talked about Lucien and Jean as well. Both were satisfied with Lucien’s slow but steady recovery. Jean was adjusting well to having help in the house, enjoying Lucien’s return, and making time to work on the POW grant materials. 

The day Aaron left the Blake house, he hugged Jean and Lucien, teared up, and said, “Thank you so much for everything. Can I please keep my bedroom? I want to come back, not just to see patients, but to spend time with the two of you.” Jean looked at Aaron, held his hand in hers, “Aaron, the room is yours, of course it is. I think the three of us have forged a friendship that is so very special. For me it is in the category of my friendship with Mathew and Alice that developed while Lucien was away. Who would have believed I have two such fulfilling friendships? We help each other without question, without even needing to say anything,” Jean told him. Lucien grinned at Aaron, and hugged him. “Thank you for your wise counsel, your friendship, and for spending time with us. Plan your Thursday patient visits so you can stay overnight. Your new lounges are much appreciated.” 

“Blake, you keep working hard for Alice, Richard, and Gus. I know you are struggling now with your recall of medications, but your physical skills are present, Lucien. I have seen you in action, you are excellent. I think it is a matter of regaining your confidence. I hope by working with Richard and the Group Session participants you can discover what is hindering your recall of your extensive medical knowledge,” Aaron told Blake, smiling at him, and shaking his hand. 

Of course, Lucien Blake’s recovery would not be straight forward. One evening in early February, Jean and Lucien were lying in bed, cuddling with each other, when he looked at her, kind of grimaced, and then said, “My love, Jeannie, I have so much bouncing around my brain tonight. Will you listen to me, help me sort it?” “You know I will, Lucien, as much as I can. I am here for you, tonight and every night,” Jean told him, kissing his hands, then his face, hoping he was not going down one of those awful dark holes. “Um, Jeannie, when I try to recall the names of prescription drugs, I am not any better than the second day in hospital when I could not remember the meds for your neck. I get very agitated and nervous even when I just think about it. I overheard Alice and a patient today, and I can’t believe that I had that breath of knowledge when I had the surgery.” 

“Love, you were away for over two years, and both Richard and Alice have told you not to push yourself. You are on _your_ schedule for recovery. I know, Lucien, you are doing excellent work with the Thursday group session. Not only has Joseph told me, but several of your participants tell me the same thing. You have in innate ability to help them see through the fog and find clarity in their individual situations. Lucien, you have good skills there. It may not be at the level of handling your surgery, yet, but you need to give yourself permission to recover, slowly,” Jean told him, hoping there was something in her thinking he could grab on to. 

“But, Jean, what if I can’t handle the surgery, um –“ “Lucien Blake, look at me. I am not ready to say that, I am not. You have been back with me about two and a half months, those drugs in your system are finally disappearing, and you are still recovering from the near fatal skull fracture. Remember Richard told us that he will be concerned if in 26 months, you are not feeling like you did before you were abducted. We have a long road ahead of us. And together, we will emerge on the other side, we will.” 

“Hold me, Jeannie, I need you to hold me,” Lucien told her, beginning to lose his composure. “Lucien, I was just about to do that my handsome boy. You are strong, you are, you always have been, we just need to help you realize that once again,” Jean told him, smothering him in kisses, as he reached to hold her tightly. “I am going to take this blasted brace off, wrap my knee in a pillow and get to makin’ out with you, my love. What about that?” Lucien told her, grinning mischievously, before he kissed her deeply. “Do you think you can handle me tonight, Lucien?” “I have every intention of trying to, my love.” 

A couple days later, in the morning post, Jean found an official document for Lucien from the Medical Board of Australia, When he opened the envelope, Alice, Matthew and Jean were sitting with him. He found his recently renewed medical license which would not expire until September 1966. He looked at it and shook his head. “How? Why? Who did this?” Lucien asked. “Lucien, the Army has kept it updated while you were out of country and on your discharge in November, it was renewed for a second year, hence the September 1966 expiration date. Lucien, did you remember you had a current copy of your license in your ruck sack?” Alice asked. Lucien just looked at Alice and took a deep breath, “No, I didn’t, Alice. But, in all reality, I cannot practice, not now, we all know that.” Alice looked at him, put her hand on his shoulder, and said, “Perhaps later, my good friend? Our goal is to have you feeling better physically and mentally in the next six months.”

Lucien appeared to be recovering his physical health. Both he and Matthew went swimming each morning, along with their ‘minders,’ Bill and Peter. The number of laps they were able to complete continued to increase, and it was beginning to be somewhat competitive between the two childhood friends. Jean and Alice had remembered Lucien’s recovery from the chest wound delivered by Percy Walker and how he became, in his own words ‘an awful, dreadful patient.’ They kept waiting for that behavior to show itself. Much to their disbelief, he remained a model patient, following Alice’ orders, taking an afternoon nap, eating healthy meals, staying on his crutches, wearing a lighter weight brace that Gus had designed for him. He was enjoying the comic books Matthew gave him for Christmas as well as the crossword puzzle books from Alice. 

One afternoon, Richard, Jean and Alice discussed Lucien’s behavior, and then talked with him about it. “I um am content to stay here, follow Alice’s orders, don’t particularly want to practice medicine yet, makes me so anxious still. But I am involved in the group sessions, write a couple times a day in my journal, work on my drawings, talk with all of you, sit in the lounge outside. Don’t quite understand it myself, but well, it has only been a couple of months since I have been back, maybe that is the simplest explanation,” Lucien told them, pushing his hair down, in his typical nervous gesture. His hair was growing out, curly, more grey than brown, never combed down unless he knew Little Blake would visit. It would be a couple more weeks before Clark trimmed his hair.

Richard began talking with him, “Major, old man Henderson has asked Matthew and me about visiting you. He wants to apologize to you about his decisions back in September 1962 that aided in your abduction. Are you ready to talk with him?” “Um Richard, no I am not. I have not even been out there to see where I um was, don’t really want to do it, um no, don’t, no,” Lucien stated, emphatically. “I am less fearful of seeing the city now, but I do not want to visit the road where they found my car. As a matter of fact, I still have not taken a ride in my Holden. All too frightening, not ready yet,” Lucien told Richard, not realizing that Matthew had overheard their conversation.

Then Matthew entered the room and spoke up, ”Blake, Bill and I want to take you to the Station to look at evidence from the Bendigo storage locker of the mystery man, aka Boris Green. What about tomorrow morning after we go swimming? We could really use your help.” 

"Matthew, um let me ah -” Alice and Matthew looked at Lucien, Jean walked up to him, took his face in her hands, looked at him, smiled, and kissed him. “Now, just what were you trying to do, my love?” Lucien took a big breath, smiled at Jean, then looked at Alice and Matthew, “Well, Matthew, at least you did not bellow at me, Alice and Jean had those looks they fire my way every once in a while, and Richard, well Richard, has a um his own unique stare that gets my attention. Yes, I will go with you and Bill. Can’t promise much, but I will at least look at everything you have to show me,” Lucien told them, shaking his head back and forth. “And Major, we will talk about this in group this evening and when we chat afterwards. I want you writing before group session, and that is an order,” Richard told him, got up and walked over to his Major, hugged him, whispered something in his ear, and Lucien responded, “Yes, Richard, of course.”

After Matthew, Lucien, Bill and Peter finished their morning swim, they drove to the police station, found an isolated room and opened the boxes of material from Locker 34. Matthew began the conversation, “Blake, the locker included two more passports, several folders of material and notes about you, and memorabilia of one Victor Gennardy, including family pictures, even his death notice. Two pistols, several documents with aliases that matched what the mystery man was using, and a couple additional ones we had not heard of. Now where do we start?”

“Yes, I did kill Victor Gennardy in Macau before I came back to Ballarat. He was one of two people I was ordered to kill, um yes in my other life. So if the mystery man is related to Victor Gennardy, he is not using the Gennardy surname is he? So far we have Boris Green, Jonas Holman, Mark Pearce, and Mick Young for names. And two more names? What are they?” Lucien asked. Matthew picked up the additional passports and read off Kenneth Jones and Henry Smith. “You know, I never heard him use any of those names, ever. What do you think that was all about?” Lucien asked, shaking his head.

“Since he rented the locker under the ‘Victor Gennardy’ name, it sounds like the man is still dealing with what I did to him and his family. All of the pistols –“ Lucien stopped and looked at Bill. “Doc, I brought several pistols back to Alice before you left hospital. I have them all fingerprinted, and we are going to do test firings on them to see if the bullet we have from the presumed Linemann skeleton is a match. And I will have these additional pistols added to the ones we have. You know, Doc, one of these might be the weapon, what do you think?” Bill asked. 

“Good idea, Bill. So let me look at the folders, now,” Lucien said. As he read the first one, there were extensive notes on drugs, a wide variety of synthesis reactions, all from manufacturing plants in Hong Kong. The numbers assigned to seven of them matched the tablets they found in Hannam’s gear: 1, 9, 12, 14, 19, 65, 70. There were also several bottles of each drug in the locker as well. “Now why would he have left these in the locker if he knew Hannam and I were throwing them away in Cambodia, that I was stepping down the dosages? Maybe he did not know that?” Lucien asked, looking at Matthew.

“Matthew, we need to get this information to Richard, so he can talk with his mates who are doing the testing. You know they have never really figured out exactly what each of the drugs ah um,” Lucien stopped talking, took a deep breath. Bill pulled his head up, looked him in the eyes, “Doc, don’t make the Boss bellow at you. He scares me,” Bill said with a grin. “Yes, yes, Bill, I understand. I am alright now. Matthew, I am. Really.”

Peter cleared his throat before he got into the conversation. “Boss and Dr. Blake, I have an idea, it may seem strange, but here it is. Green was here in mid-September 1964, left all of this stuff in Locker 34, including the formulations, and the extra bottles of drugs. Why did he do that? I propose he was going to um well yes murder you Dr. Blake when he returned to Cambodia. I don’t think he knew about you and Hannam stepping the drugs down, or he would have taken them back with him,” Peter told the group, ending with his characteristic smile. “Well Peter, an interesting idea. Maybe I had become expendable to him. Perhaps Hannam was as well. Will need to think about that idea some more,” Lucien said.

“Matthew, I am getting tired, ready to go home. Who is going to drive me there?” Peter volunteered to drive Lucien back to the house and before they left Matthew pulled his constable aside and talked to him briefly before they walked to the police cruiser. Peter took a circuitous route back to the house, went by Lake Wendouree, and noticed that Blake was looking out the window, observing where they were, did not say anything, but did shake his head occasionally.

As he walked into the house, Lucien smelled something marvelous baking, and thought perhaps Jean was making a chocolate cake. Wouldn’t that be lovely, breaking Alice’s rules, but my goodness it smelled so good. As he brought his swim kit to the laundry room, Jean was indeed in the kitchen, as were Kate and Ella, and they were discussing the meals for the remainder of the week. “Lucien, good swim this morning?” Jean asked, as she smiled at him, walked up to him, kissed him, and then held his hand.

“Yes, it was fine. Spent some time with the Locker 34 stuff, for want of a better term, and Peter brought me home driving me around Ballarat. Jean, what if um I ah wanted to see Jean’s Place? Do you think I am ready to um go there?” All three woman watched him struggle with the idea of leaving the house, and not just going to swim or to Melbourne for his follow-up care. Kate looked at Lucien and said, “Dr. B. anytime you want to go to Jean’s Place, Arnie, Cliff or Vincent would be happy to accompany you. They are so very proud of their remodel, add-ons, whatever you want to call it.” “What about this evening?” Lucien asked. “I will call Arnie right now and you can ask him, what about that?” Kate asked him.

Before Lucien could decide if he wanted to actually talk to Arnie, the telephone was in his hand and Arnie was speaking to him. Lucien agreed to be ready to go at 7 PM, hung up the receiver, and smiled broadly at Jean. “Jean, I um yes, I agreed to go tonight, didn’t I? Will you go with me? Maybe take Hugh with us?” Lucien said, pushing his hair down with his hand. “Of course I will, you did not even need to ask me, Lucien,” Jean told him.

“Dr. B., would you like a little piece of cake?” Ella asked him. “Need a taster for this new icing I made for it.” Lucien looked at her, grinned, and said, “Don’t tell Alice, alright?” “Did I hear my name mentioned?” Alice said, smiling at Lucien as she walked into the kitchen to get a cup of tea. He had the piece of chocolate cake in his mouth, grinning at Ella, “Try this Alice, it is just marvelous. It is,” Lucien told her, while licking the chocolate icing off his fingers.

Arnie arrived at the Blake house a few minutes before 7 PM to pick up Lucien and Jean. In a police cruiser, Peter drove both Bill and Hugh. In 20 minutes or so, they pulled up to Jean’s Place, parked the vehicles and discovered Cliff and Vincent were waiting for them. As Lucien walked toward the cabin, he found a new ramp to make it easy for both Matthew and him to get onto the porch, a nifty solar shower, and a silly wooden plaque on the dunny that said ‘Out of Service.’ Lucien grinned at his carpenters and said, “Thank you so much mates, thank you.” The ‘Jean’s Place’ sign still hung over the door, and it appeared to have been painted since he was last at the cabin.

Jean opened the door into the cabin and noticed a Lamington cake on the table. Alice and Matthew, Kate, Ella and Allie were waiting for them. They kept quiet about their plans and surprised both Jean and Lucien. Matthew pointed out the old Blake house furniture, the new loo, the light switches and overhead lights, and the shiny new kitchen faucet. The bedroom for Jean and Lucien looked very similar to what he remembered, even had a new duvet on the bed, and the Y-room had another bunkbed added to it. “Blake, what do you think?” Matthew asked him. “So nice, yes, thank you everyone for finishing what Danny, Mattie and I started. So many good memories from here, yes there are.”

The group stayed until it was getting dark, had eaten most of the cake, enjoyed conversation that was pleasant and filled with laughter. “Lucien, Alice and I were coming up here on the Saturday the telephone call came from James. We were planning Blake’s fourth birthday party. We have celebrated so many Blake family events here,” Jean told him, as she held his hand. Matthew and Bill suggested that they needed to lock Jean’s Place up, head back to Ballarat and return another evening to enjoy the sunset. Lucien asked, “I think I recall we were going to get some picnic tables. Did that happen?” “Yes, Dr. B., we have made three, as well as some benches. They are on the side of the cabin, away from the evening sun. Will show you the next time we come. Also have a couple of firepits with grates for cooking,” Cliff told Lucien and the group. “And we need to plan an outing, bring some food and beer. I will talk to the Melbourne group and get it planned,” Hugh suggested.

Later that evening, Jean and Lucien were lying in bed talking about his first trip to Jean’s Place since his return. “Jeannie, my love, I remember when I decided to fix up this old cabin for you, I wanted you to stay with me, I would have done anything for you, I loved you so much. And you were struggling with ‘Us’ being a couple, so many differences, so much gossip and whispers, neither one of us expecting to find love in the midst of my father’s passing, my return, my drunkenness, but you stayed with me, gave me a chance to prove to you that I really could be the best version of Lucien Blake for you every day, not be a pain in your neck.“ Lucien held his love tightly and kissed her neck. When he released Jean, she was wiping some tears, and smiling at him. “I do love you, so glad you did not tell me about Jean’s Place, as hard as I tried to get the information, you would not. Such a surprise to remember. And I am delighted you wanted to see the cabin this evening and we will return and do a sleep over, we will.” 

The next day, before the Thursday Group session participants arrived, Joseph and Lucien sat in the lounges chatting. “Major, tell me about the trip to Jean’s Place last evening. How did you handle it?” Joseph asked, placing a hand on Lucien’s arm. “Joseph, I said yes to the trip before I realized what I did. Could not get out of it and I did fine. Had a big group of supporters, some delicious cake, and it was not that hard. I did recall when you fell off of the couch, needed stitches, and um yes, I was a surgeon then. I could help you and I did. I did a good job, didn’t I? But now, Joseph, I have lost my confidence, can’t remember enough to be of any use to anyone,” Lucien told him, shaking his head. 

“Major, you are guiding all of us in the group session through our mazes, our quick sand, you are. That is not an easy assignment. Look at me, now!” Lucien turned his head, Joseph stared into Lucien’s eyes, “Major, you are our leader, we all need you, and I have no doubt that you will be able to practice as a physician and surgeon again. No doubt what so ever,” Joseph told him, holding his head, leaning forward to touch foreheads, grinning at each other. Lucien pulled away, wiped some tears from his eyes, “Yes, Joseph, I believe you think that - but I am not convinced yet.”

During the month of February, Lucien settled into a routine of swimming, spending time in the backyard and Jean’s Place, and of course writing in his journal and sketching, and taking his afternoon nap, sometimes Jean joined him. Every night they were in bed together, enjoying each other immensely. Additionally, Matthew had secured a room at the Police Station for all of the Ballarat crew to study the evidence they had, as well as they now had three blackboards filled with timelines, what still needed to be accomplished, unanswered questions to think about. Some days, Lucien spent all morning at the Police Station. Alice had slowly involved him in assisting her with cases in Ballarat and much to her surprise, he had asked to go with her to the morgue on several occasions. They were still working on the skeletal remains, the bullet and the test firings from all of the guns of the Mystery Man. 

Lucien’s after dinner conversations with James, Richard, Hugh, Aaron, and Joseph, when they were in town for their POW Surgery hours, always covered an interesting set of topics, producing some boisterous exchanges. In fact, if one did not know it, these sessions sounded exactly like before Lucien disappeared. Everyone agreed that Lucien was making slow, but steady progress in his recovery. Richard continued to remind everyone that time, time, and more time was their friend for Lucien regaining his health.

“Lucien, lets pack our clothing for the trip tomorrow to Melbourne. Bill is driving the two of us and Joseph back early in the morning. Joseph has office hours at 9, I have grant meetings all day and you have your medical check. Come and help me,” Jean told him. As he walked close to her, he reached out to her, kissed her on the lips, and said, “Did you know I love you?” “Well, yes I do, Dr. Blake. Known that for quite some time,” Jean told him, as she smiled at him. “And I love you, want you in my bed every night, do you know that?” “Well, yes I do, my lady,” Lucien hugged Jean, shaking his head, “Yes I do.” 

Once they packed their suitcases, Lucien told Jean, “I will wear one brace, take the night brace, my crutches, and my swim wear. Why don’t you take your suit and we can get into the therapy pool? Do you think I might get a cane this trip? Wouldn’t that be good news?” “Yes, let’s hope Gus is thinking the same way. Do we have everything?” “Nope, here is Joseph’s box!” Lucien told her.

Jean was meeting with the POW grant team, training Aaron on the monthly paperwork he needed to complete for her, as well as editing the grant renewal that was due in a couple of weeks. She thought Friday would be an intense day but she knew Richard and Alice would help her with the editing. So much to include in the renewal. But she knew they had a very strong case for continued funding, increasing patient numbers, adding a new physician with tropical medicine expertise, creative treatment plans, yes, much to include. Lucien would be put through the medical paces once again. He had a remarkably positive attitude when he had so many physicians working with him.

After spending a couple of hours with Lucien, James and Hugh completed their physical examination, then discussed their findings with the Major. “Major, your knee is healing nicely, and the swelling continues to decline. Gus has a new brace for you, he calls it a ‘Memory’ brace to remind you that you hurt your knee, be careful. He will help you the transition from crutches to a cane later this evening when he visits. There are no drugs in your system, your blood pressure is now stable and in an acceptable range. All of the neurological findings are normal and your ear infection has not returned. Skull fracture has healed. But you are still not gaining much weight. We will talk with Jean and Alice about a strategy to help you add maybe five more pounds,” James told him, grinning at his Major. “A world of difference from the night you showed up in my A&E.”

“Yes, James, I am better in many regards, but in others, not making the progress I want to. I watch Alice treat her patients, and I can follow what she is thinking, know the classes of medications she prescribes, but for the life of me, I cannot remember the specific names. I have been that way since I arrived in hospital. I know, Richard tells me to stop obsessing about it, I am on my own personal schedule for recovery. But it is bloody maddening, it just is,” Lucien told them, as he frowned, scratched his head. 

“Major, we know you are reading medical journals with Alice and Richard, discussing articles with them, listening in on her patient visits, participating in Group Session. We both think you are doing the right preparation for your return to your surgery, in due time. The last thing we want is anxiety to overtake your recovery,” James told him, looking at him, watching him grimace, begin to look at the floor.

“Major Blake, stop what you are doing! Pull your head up! You are a survivor, right?” Hugh ordered him. Lucien looked at him, tried to grin, without much luck. Hugh reached for his hands, and then stood up and hugged him. Major, keep talking to us, please. You have made such a solid recovery to this point.” “I am alright, I am. Thank you for the pep talk. I needed it, once again,” Lucien told them reaching to hold each of their hands. 

Clark knocked on the door, entered the room, and greeted James, Hugh and Lucien. He had given Lucien his first hair cut on December 5, 1964 and today was three months later. “Clark, I know who you are now. In camp with me, all of us, cut my hair when I was in town, right?” Lucien asked him, looking pleased he remembered. “Major, you did that without us prompting you. Right? Give yourself credit. One day I think the medication recall will happen just like that – unanticipated, unannounced. You had better be ready for it!” James told him, in an excited voice.

Clark told Lucien, “You are right, Major. Good to see you looking so well. Time to measure your hair, give you a trim.” Once Clark got started he told Lucien, “So you are pretty typical, with growth of about 1.5 inches in 3 months. As I recall, the first cutting was about 7.5 inches in length or there about. If we backtrack, you last cut your hair, around 15 months before you showed up here in A&E. So, maybe, September or October of 1963.” “And Clark, I have absolutely no idea why I stopped getting it cut. I will have Jean look in the passports and see where I was then,” Lucien told him. “Major, do you want me to comb your hair, part it as before?” Clark asked. “No, not necessary. Thank you for asking me,” Lucien told him, grinning.

Dinner that evening included Jean and Lucien, Matthew and Alice as well as Gus Aaron and Richard. Their conversation ranged from hospital news, grant ideas, and meeting Paul in the morning in the therapy tank. Lucien brought up his hair cut and told the group Clark’s best guess on his previous hair cut was in September or October of 1963. Any idea where I was?” Matthew looked in his pocket notebook about Lucien’s disappearance and told him, “Blake, try Manila for just two weeks and South Viet Nam. So what might have happened to stop the haircuts? You know it could have been several weeks later that you decided to not get it cut. Let me look again in my notes. You were in South Viet Nam until April 1964. Anything come to you, my friend?” Lucien stared at him, and with a grimace said, “Of course not Matthew,” Lucien told him, but he did not look at the floor. “Of course not. Not be able to access much information quickly, takes weeks, months to bubble up. Disgusting.”

Matthew continued along another line of thought. “I have another piece of information to pass along this evening. We now know that the Mystery Man was hanging around Jean’s Toys on the afternoon of the 4 th of December. Lucien, the owner did not see you that day, but she closed the shop early around 5 PM.” “Um well, that means he was hot on my trail doesn’t it. How did I avoid him that evening?” Lucien queried the group. “Major, I think he saw you transported to hospital. He was in the A&E early that morning. Maybe he thought you would be declared DOA or perhaps he thought it would be easier to finish you off in hospital,” Richard told him. “Um, yes, he was closer than I ever imagined, yes he was,” Lucien said very quietly, shuttering a little bit, tears in his eyes, but holding his head high. Gus stood up and walked to him, stood behind Lucien, and wrapped his big arms around his shoulders, talked to him very slowly and quietly. After a few minutes, Lucien was breathing normally, Gus released him and he reached for Jeannie’s hands to hold. “Lucien Blake, you are here tonight with all of us. You are safe, and we need to celebrate that fact, right now,” Jean told the group. Aaron quickly stood up, held his wine glass in front of him, and said, “To Lucien and Jean, Here, Here.” The click of wine glasses echoed around the room, with laughter and conversation commencing once again.


	44. Cliff and Lucien

Ch. 44 Cliff and Lucien

Jean and Lucien changed into their swim suits and walked to the therapy tank. “Lucien will you work on my leg when we get into the water? I have been sitting too much today, and it is tightening up.” “Jean, of course I will. I figure I need to get back on a schedule with my knee exercises as well. Then we will have time to mess around, don’t you think?” He smiled at her, reached for her face to kiss, then broke into a huge grin. “I love you, Jeannie Blake.” 

They were in the therapy tank for over 30 minutes when they heard a knock on the door. “Blake and Jean, can I come in? Would you work on my neck and shoulders, Blake?” “Come on in Aaron. Been awhile since we had time to chat, let me see how your neck is behaving. We will enjoy your company.” 

“I have missed visiting with both of you. I am so appreciative of the time you let me stay with you in Ballarat. My transition back to hospital hours has pushed me more than I anticipated. Stamina is not what it was before. I think when I come to Ballarat for my Thursday hours, I would like to stay for the weekend, if you two do not mind,” Aaron suggested, smiling at both Jean and Lucien. “You can stay anytime you want to. Your bedroom is just that, yours. Use it. Pay us back with decorated cakes and biscuits, please,” Jean told him, holding his hand. “Thank you, Jean.” 

Lucien positioned himself behind Aaron, felt his shoulders and neck and discovered he was quite tense, even some knots in his neck muscles. “Aaron, what is going on here? You are bordering on trouble.” “Lucien, I know that. I have not been able to connect with Paul as often as I should and um well, Gus still frightens me. For some reason, you do not. Help me while you two are here this weekend, please,” Aaron pleaded with Lucien. “Let me work with you. I am afraid you are going to yell at me, but let’s get started.”

Lucien was correct, Aaron did grumble at times, yelled at him, but after several minutes, his neck felt better, he could turn it without pain. “Now we need to get you some medications. I need um – “ Both Jean and Aaron saw the look of bewilderment on Lucien’s face, and were about to comment on it when the door opened. Gus walked in, ready to join them in the water. “I thought I heard you folks in here talking. And what did I interrupt?” “Um well, Gus my neck is bothering me, Lucien was helping me, and um – “ “Gus, I can’t remember the names of medications that Aaron should be on. Can you help me?” 

“Of course, I will write scripts for Aaron, not a problem. And Blake, what about having all of us make a set of flash cards for you and you can study them, get this information more accessible for you to pull up, just like we all did in medical school? Sounds to me like that is the next step for you. What classes of medication are you considering?” Gus asked him. “Gus in general terms, pain control but not a narcotic, he can’t be loopy from it. And need to decrease the inflammation in his neck,” Lucien explained. Gus and Aaron discussed the options, confirming what Lucien wanted to prescribe. “Lucien Blake, don’t you dare put your head down. You have only been clear of those damn drugs for a couple of months. Time – Time – Time is going to be your friend, your healer. I can take care of this tonight for our friend, Aaron. And you, my young friend, need to talk to me about your neck twice a week until you feel better, understand?” “Yes, Gus, I will, I must. I know that,” Aaron told Gus, as he felt the surgeon’s big hands on his neck. “I am not going to hurt you Aaron. I am not.”

For the month of March, Lucien was ordered to focus on rehabilitation of his knee and neck, to participate in both Richard’s and Joseph’s Group Sessions each week, visit at least one area of his captivity in Ballarat, and depending on how that trip went perhaps also in Bendigo. Paul and his father were coming twice a month to the Blake house to discuss readings in Oriental Medicine they wanted him to complete. Rose had a thick stack of news stories he needed to read and discuss with her. Alice was to continue letting him sit in on surgery, ask questions, talk to the POW patients, as well as work with both Matthew and her on specific police cases. Jean continued to work on his back, putting lotion on at least once a day and in return he worked on her neck and leg. Lucien’s afternoon naps were still lengthy and very much needed as his body slowly but surely recovered. 

Jean and Mattie had planned for the weekend of March 27-28 to be a festive affair at the Blake house. Jenny was turning two years old and Lucien and Jean were celebrating their fourth anniversary, the first one together since 1962. When the word got out to the Melbourne physicians, they invited themselves to join the trek to Ballarat and 7 Mycroft Avenue. Lucien was doing well, walking either with one crutch or a cane, physically feeling pretty good, even looking more robust. He had purchased yet another lounge for the back yard to eliminate some of the whining brought on by the additional guests. As soon as the McCann’s arrived, Blake headed for Lucien and Jenny for Jean. At least Joseph and Mattie had time to unpack the car, stash the birthday gifts in Matthew and Alice’s bedroom, and bring in some food. 

Even with a houseful of people celebrating Jenny, Jean and Lucien, Lucien still needed to lie down and rest in the afternoon. He walked to the bedroom to take a nap, Blake followed him, carrying a book to read to him, and Jenny was delivered by Mattie to the bed. Two hours later, it was still very quiet in the room – Joseph and Jean found the three of them still asleep, Jenny with her head on Lucien’s chest and Blake holding onto Lucien’s hand. Finally after three hours, giggling, laughing, and chuckling were heard coming from the bedroom. Jean and Alice went in and found the little ones listening to a silly Lucien story. Blake was sitting next to him, Jenny was in his arms, he was hugging them, telling the two he was glad to be back, that he loved them, was speaking in French to Blake who was trying to stump his Uncle and could not do it. 

Saturday evening was the birthday party for Little Jenny McCann. Since Lucien was away when Jenny was born, Mattie had prepared two photograph books of pictures to give him. In reality, this was Jenny’s present to Lucien. He sat on the couch and slowly turned the pages, smiling, laughing, wiping a tear at times. From Ballarat, Jean, Alice, Matthew, Rose, Bill, and Cec were well represented in the pictures. The Melbourne POW group, Danny and Charlie were in many of the pictures as well. Lucien’s favorite photograph was in the delivery room, Mattie was beaming, Joseph was holding his daughter, probably the very first picture of the three of them, and he was crying. Kate, Allie, Ella and Jean planned the evening meal and Aaron had decorated a huge Birthday cake. Jenny received a wide variety of presents and Blake was surprised he did not get the lion’s share of gifts. Lucien was seen talking to him, explaining why he was not the center of attention this weekend. 

By Sunday afternoon, most of the group left for Melbourne and Jean and Lucien along with Peter and Bill drove to Jean’s Place to spend the late afternoon and evening in celebration of their fourth wedding anniversary. They brought some food and drink with them, but when they arrived, they discovered that Aaron and James were already at the cabin, getting the firepit started so they could cook an anniversary meal of seafood and vegetables for the two of them. Once they served their friends dinner in the cabin, complete with two bottles of wine and dessert, they told them good bye, gave them both a hug and said that dinner was compliments of the POW group and drove back to Ballarat to spend the remainder of the evening with Alice, Matthew, and Rose. Bill and Peter stayed the evening as well as overnight, preforming their assigned duties as discretely and quietly as possible. 

“Lucien, wasn’t this just lovely? Did you have enough to eat?” Jean asked her love. “Jeannie, yes this is marvelous, and I can’t hold another morsel of food. Do you know this is our fourth anniversary, we have new wedding bands, I am so happy I can’t really believe it. You waited for me, and I hope that I am well on my way to recovering, to not be a burden to you.,” Lucien told her as he kissed her hands. 

“I bought a new black nightgown for tonight, should I put it on, and the two of us get into bed?” Jean asked him, smiling, then giving him the eyebrow look. “Yes, I want to look at my gal in her new sexy nightclothes. And I have a new pair of sleeping trousers for this evening as well,” Lucien told her. Once they changed to their night clothes, each looked at the other one and simply smiled at each other. “You are so handsome Lucien Blake, do you know that?” “And you are beautiful, my love, I hope you know that.” They got into the bed, stretched out, and held each other, and began unpacking their weekend. Lucien noticed Joseph’s box was sitting on the nightstand. “So you remembered to bring them. I looked for the box and could not find it at home,” Lucien smiled and then chuckled as he kissed Jeannie.

Before Jean realized what Lucien was doing, his trousers were on the floor, and he was beginning to slowly undress her, looking at each piece of her new sleepwear, then kissing her bare skin, from her head to her toes. They settled into a skin to skin embrace, and realized they were closer than they had been since his return. The knee brace was smaller, less bulky and Jean could get really close to Lucien. He grinned at Jean, kissed her and said, “I love you and I want us both to be happy tonight.” Jean began their love making by playing with Radcliffe and Lucien hummed his pleasure. “Jeannie, we are not as slow as the first time, right?” “No, my love, you are not on a two hour cycle now, not at all,” she told him, smiling at Lucien, then smothering him in kisses. “But I don’t want to rush this evening, want to savor it, enjoy you, enjoy us. Have a couple of missed anniversaries to make up tonight.” 

Over the next couple of months, Matthew, Bill, Peter and Lucien continued visiting locations in Ballarat, Bendigo and eventually stopped at Henderson’s cabin. Richard had suggested that Lucien and Henderson meet at the cabin, not in Lucien’s office. Talking with Henderson was hard for Lucien, caused him to stare at the ground at times, but each time, he pulled his head back up, by himself. For the longest time, he did let Henderson talk, did not say one word to Henderson, stared at him, shook his head, and finally said, “Why? Why?” Henderson could not give him an adequate answer. Lucien stared holes into the man, made him terribly uncomfortable. The most Lucien could say was “Why?”

Later, when James and Danny were in town, Peter and Bill borrowed a tractor with a wagon from Cliff and loaded up Danny, James, Matthew and Lucien in the wagon. They drove slowly down the dirt road to the field where Lucien was forced to walk, in the heat, on the first evening. They slowly drove into the field, and once the dugout area was reached, Lucien and Matthew were helped out of the wagon, looked around, and Lucien knew immediately where Linemann was executed. He took a big breath, shook his head, put his hands over his ears, and stood looking at the ground. “Oh my God, this could have been my um well, yes it could have been. But it wasn’t my time, was it? And I am back home, with my love, and all of my friends, who did not, would not forget me,” Lucien told the group, feeling James put his hands on his shoulders. “No, we never did forget you, never. We were ready when you returned, yes we were,” James told him, looking Lucien in the eyes, keeping him focused on him. 

“And you knew who I was, James, you did,” Lucien told him. “And Major, that was the second time I recognized you – remember the first time? You were in hospital, walking with some of my colleagues, you were much heavier than in camp, took me awhile to figure out who you were. Finally connected with Matthew, came to your Surgery, and we um well I tried to tell you how much you meant to me, ended up standing in a puddle of my tears,” James tried to explain to Lucien, but was very quickly the young officer in camp, who helped his Major, who looked up to Lucien, his leadership keeping him and the rest of his mates alive all of those years in camp. 

Later that week, Alice, Bill, Matthew and Lucien did the test firings of the multitude of guns they found associated with Boris Green, Robert Hannam as well as Lucien. Once all of the guns were fired, the markings on the bullets were compared to the bullet found with the Linemann skeleton. There was only one match and this was the gun found in Lucien’s bank box, along with the key to locker 34, and one of Boris Green’s passports. 

Lucien looked at the group, swallowed, and then said, “Um, well, confirms what I remember happening in the field. Green shot Linemann. In November, when Green got back to Melbourne, I followed him to the hotel, broke into the room, I took those items. I stole them! That was pretty brazen on my part wasn’t it? Put them in my bank box. I think he was trying to get them back from me. I know if the tide was turned, I would want my stuff back as well. That would be worth killing for, don’t you think?”

On June 25, the POW grant team gathered for a meeting in Melbourne. Richard had reserved several rooms for the Ballarat crew to stay over the weekend and a couple of conference rooms for their discussions. Beyond the budget concerns that needed to be addressed by the doctors, the investigative team wanted to sketch out what they knew about the beginning and the ending of Lucien’s disappearance. Of course there were huge gaps and holes in the middle of his abduction, which Rose, Peter, Lucien and Bill were continuing to work on. 

Matthew began with Lucien’s agency file that developed the Macau incident with Victor Gennardy. “Here are some key points: The chest wound that Lucien had forgotten until Gus and Jean helped him understand what happened was inflicted by one Victor Gennardy. He is the brother of The Mystery Man or aka Boris Green among the many aliases he uses. Now Green rented the storage room in Bendigo in September 1962 under his brother’s name Victor Gennardy. Much of the material in the locker 34 pertained to the Gennardy family and of course, Lucien. Even the drugs that Lucien had taken for the last two years were still in the locker.” 

“Along with the Mystery Man were Robert Hannam and George Linemann. They planned the abduction of Lucien and forced him back into the army, drugged him, made him do what? Well, that is still a very big unanswered question. Hannam was willing to help the Mystery Man - somewhat like he did Derek Alderton so many years ago. Eventually he became Lucien’s confident, but that would take time, until July 1964 or so, when they started decreasing the drugs. I think that Boris Green was obsessed. His obsession was to harm his brother’s killer and that person was Lucien Blake,” Matthew concluded. 

Richard took over the timeline. “Robert Hannam went along with Boris Green’s plan to try and keep him under control, not let the plan get out of hand. But very quickly, Green exploded at Linemann and on the very first night that Blake was with them, and Linemann was eliminated. Green’s plan was to abduct Blake, place him in a position to kill, destroy life and limb, and at a time to be chosen by Green, to then kill the Major. He needed him to be under his control, to follow orders, to murder if needed. Getting Blake back in the army intelligence was the method that Green decided would work the most effectively.” 

Alice continued the thread of information. “So how to abduct Blake in broad daylight, in his home town? Here is what we propose: Hannam and Green were waiting in Lucien’s Holden, and forced him to drive his car to the country side, outside of Ballarat. By the time they reached Bendigo, Lucien was in the back seat, with Green pointing a gun at his ribs.”

“No, No, Alice, he had a knife, a very sharp one, and also several pistols. He also packed a serious punch to my midsection, several times. Even stood on my head with his damn boots. From the beginning, he kept me off balance, thirsty, not thinking straight,” Lucien added more details, details he had never told anyone. 

“Linemann met them in Bendigo, driving an older model car and they quickly moved out of town to the road near old man Jones’ field. There was a wire fence along the roadside, they cut it, and Hannam and Green started walking Lucien into the field. Linemann would move the Blake car farther down the road, leave it with no footprints around it, only Lucien’s fingerprints inside and outside. Green made Lucien leave everything, including his wallet and wedding ring, in the car. Linemann closed up the wire fence, caught up with the trio later. Something happened, and Green executed Linemann, in full view of Lucien,” Alice added more details to the abduction.

“Green showed no remorse to shooting Linemann. He was late returning from parking my car. You know he limped, took longer to travel the distance. Don’t know what he did to his ankle, had a special boot that he wore. Maybe that was it, or maybe Green wanted to impress on me what he was capable of doing. You know, I could be that brutal in my former life, if I needed to be. Must have had the same training,” Lucien told the group, while shaking his head back and forth. 

“Lucien, you, Hannam and Green spent two nights in the field and finally reached Henderson’s cabin, where they made you change into the OP Shop clothes, and leave your suit, including your pocket watch. By now Lucien you were on the drug mixture, placed into the back of Henderson’s Ute and they drove away.”

“But wait a minute, I remember you found the older Holden that Linemann was driving burned out near Ballarat on September 29, 1962. Do you know who moved the car, set it on fire?” Lucien asked. “Not yet,” Matthew told him. 

Danny started sketching out the information when they reached the city. “Eventually, in Melbourne, the three of you stayed in the same hotel that Green stayed in after his return on Nov. 20, 1964. The desk clerk recognized pictures of Hannam, Lucien, Green and that lady who bolted from the bank, when we retrieved items from Lucien’s bank box, remember that Matthew? They disappeared for several weeks, doing what? Maybe training, getting the drug brew adjusted in Lucien, what? Whatever, when they were back in Melbourne, Hannam and Lucien were seen around Paul’s shop and the bank. Don’t know where they were staying this time. Hannam and Lucien left Melbourne in late January 1963 based on Jean’s cardiac episode. No sightings of Green at this point in time.”

“Um well, I yes need to add some things here. We flew on airplanes, bumpy rides, flights so long, so bloody air sick, could not stop throwing up, nasty sick, hot, sweaty. Tied up, could not get to the loo. Confused. Could not remember how to contact Jean, so scared, did not think I would ever get back home, I did not,” Lucien told them, shaking his head, tearing up, dropped his eyes to the floor. Then he took a deep breath, pulled his head up, smiled at Jean, reached for her hands, kissed them. “I love you, Jean Blake, do you know that?”

Rose interjected some of her findings and thinking. “The middle part of the disappearance is still fairly devoid of information. Bill and I have discovered very little in papers, international wire services, whatever they were doing is all under the radar. We are still on the prowl. For the last few weeks, Lucien is reading news articles along with Bill, Peter, and me.” 

“Wait a minute. I know more to add to the middle. Lucien do you remember the sketch of Saigon that you shared with Carol and me? You told us about the residence of the Australian Ambassador, Brian Clarence Hill. Hannam and you were stationed there as undercover agents for about nine months. We looked in your military passport and found you were there in South Viet Nam from July 1963 until April 1964,” Jean told the him as well as the group. “And I spent our anniversary in March of 1964 by myself. And for that matter, you did too – we were apart, by thousands of miles. This year I was home, with you, our extended family, and we celebrated Jenny’s birthday. You know, I just realized she was born on our anniversary, wasn’t she?” Lucien said, smiling at the group. “Yes, I know, slow on the uptake some times.”

Lucien asked a question. “Um, yes, I have a question, have any of you figured out how I could function as an intelligence agent and a physician during this time? It has been six months or so off of the drug concoction, and there are times I still can’t think straight. Please work on this. I am trying to be patient, but really want to move forward, understand this.” 

Richard added some more detail about the drug mixture. “The end of June 1964, Lucien and Hannam started stepping the drugs down for Lucien. Green was in Bendigo in September 1964 but returned in early October. He inflicted Lucien’s head injury then. Hannam helped the Major, stabilized his neck, hid him, found a way out of Cambodia for the both of them. Once Green figured out they were missing, he discovered a ship’s manifest or what? that suggested that Hannam was on his way to Canberra. Hannam got Lucien out of the army, to Melbourne, all the while the drugs continued to be decreased, and they hid in the blue crackling paint building. Green must not have known of this hiding place. Hannam’s plan fell apart when he got ill with malaria, Lucien’s drug levels dropped below a ‘control’ level, and he started wandering, nearly stumbled into James A&E late on the evening of Dec. 4, 1964.” 

Charlie developed some of his information. “After the three were back in Melbourne in November 1964, Green was observed following Hannam and Blake. Several of our contacts indicated they saw the three of them, Green from a distance watching the other two very intently. The lady at Jean’s Toys saw Green on Dec. 4th hanging around her store. Later that night, Lucien collapsed outside the store, brought to hospital and we have several people in the A&E who saw Green there, the morning of Dec. 5th, dressed in hospital gear. Between the morning when he overheard James leave the message for Aaron and early afternoon, he made it to Aaron’s office. He stored his gear, waited for Aaron, smashed his skull, dressed in Aaron’s white coat, took his wallet and name badge.” 

“Charlie, how did he get into my office suite?” Aaron asked. “Um, one of hospital temporary employees, we think. Same lady who was in the bank. Green waited for you and well yes, nearly killed you,” Charlie told him.

“Then Saturday afternoon, December 5th, Green approached the POW suite and Danny and I stopped him. His plans fell apart because James knew who Aaron was. Green is still in solitary. So is the woman. Neither one will cooperate. Matthew, Alice, Bill and Lucien have solved the Linemann killing and Green is charged with that crime. He is also charged with the attack on Aaron,” Charlie concluded. 

Matthew looked at his good friend, and said, “Blake, you know that Richard has a goal of 26 months for you to feel like you did when you were abducted, to be able to think and function as a physician, an investigator, my police surgeon and Jean Blake’s husband and lover. I think that is the investigative team’s goal as well. We need time, and we need your help. We’ll take your assistance any way you can help us.”

Lucien looked at friends, and then said, “You have worked so hard on my disappearance, helped me understand some of what happened, have kept me centered, not let me go down into the dark holes I so desperately wanted to, made me realize that I know so much more than I initially thought I did. I am more hopeful now that I have been since you found me in the A&E so many months ago. Yes, I will keep thinking about the details, let all of you know anything I remember. Thank you ever so much.” 

In the middle of August, on a Tuesday evening about dinner time, a very loud, hurried pounding on the Blake front door was heard by the crowd in the kitchen. Richard and Bill were on their way to the door very quickly. Once the door was open, Cliff and Allie were standing there, looking disheveled, dirty, and frightened. “Alice and Blake, we need you in the surgery, now,” Richard ordered, loudly, in an atypical tone to his voice. 

Alice was down the hall faster than Blake and walked into the surgery to find Cliff’s lower arm covered in a couple of dishtowels that were quite stained. As she carefully removed the makeshift bandage, she found a nasty, ragged cut on his arm. “Cliff, what happened?” Alice asked. “Accident, of course by myself in the field, had to get back to the house, scared Allie badly, but we are here. Thought someone would help me and we were right,” Cliff briefly explained, as he looked at all of the physicians standing around the examination table. Noticing that Allie had blood stains over most of the front of her blouse, Rose walked up to her, offered to help her clean up some, get a cup of tea, let her unwind. “The two of us are kitchen bound. If we can help, let us know,” Rose told Alice. 

Jean had pulled out items required for the sutures as well as medication to numb Cliff’s arm, as Alice began to cleanse his wound. Alice looked at Richard and they quietly agreed on a strategy. “Lucien, as you know, I never was very adept at suturing this type of injury, why don’t you do it for Cliff? I’ll numb his arm and you take care of the rest of this, alright?” She moved away from Cliff’s arm after she had injected the numbing agents, and turned Cliff over to Lucien. Cliff looked at him and very quietly said, “Yes, Dr. B. please help me, will you?” “Yes, um Cliff, I ah well I can do this, it is just muscle memory, physical work, don’t need to remember drug names or dosages, no, just carefully suture. Yes, I can do this,” Lucien told himself and the group, stumbling over his words. At least he did not walk out of the Surgery. He took a deep breath and looked at Jean, who locked eyes with him, smiled at Lucien, and then told him, “You can do this, Lucien Blake, you can.”

As he sutured the wound, Lucien talked with Cliff, making certain he was doing alright, Jean was handing him what he needed. She had prepared syringes for tetanus toxoid and penicillin injections as well. Alice had Cliff’s records out and was quickly checking them and nodded to Jean that he needed both injections. After Lucien finished suturing, he carefully covered the wound with a bandage and stepped back to look at Cliff. On his own he asked, “Cliff, when was your last tetanus shot? Are you allergic to any drugs I need to know about?” Cliff quickly answered, “Don’t remember on the tetanus shot. No drug allergies that I know about.” Lucien looked at Jean, told her what he wanted her to prepare. Jean handed them to him, smiled at him, “Here you are Doctor Blake.”

Then, Lucien walked to the medicine cabinet, looked at the pain medications, selected six tablets to give to Cliff, typed the label for the bottle, and handed it to him. “Cliff, if your arm really bothers you tonight, try these. Keep the arm dry and I will change the bandage for you on Thursday, before Group Session. Any questions for me?” “Dr. B., thank you so much. I just busted in here, made you miss your dinner, but I never thought you would be um, thought Alice would well, this is a shocker for both of us, isn’t it?” Cliff told him, grinning at him. “Yes, Cliff, not what I planned to do this evening.”

“Major, Major Blake, my goodness -“ Richard started to talk to his Major, when Lucien interrupted him. “Richard, Alice, Jean, I um well my goodness look what I just did. Didn’t think about it, just um did it,” Lucien told them, smiling, grinning and then he hugged Cliff. “Cliff, you are um my guinea pig, first patient in so many months. I am sorry you cut your arm but um glad that you were willing to let me help you,” Lucien told him. “Thank you, yes. Thank you so much Cliff.”

“I have something to give to you, Dr. Lucien Blake, from all of the POW grant team,” Alice told him. She handed Lucien a new journal and he read the inscription aloud, _“For Dr. Lucien Blake, On the Occasion of your first patient, since your return on December 4, 1964. The POW Grant Team.”_

“Lucien, welcome back,” Alice told him, shook his hand and then hugged her friend. “I must write down what I did, update Cliff’s medical record for the office. Thank you for not letting me think about what you asked me to do, just let me do it. Thank you,” Lucien told the group, reaching for Jean’s hand, pulled her close to him, and then kissed her. Jean handed him a handkerchief to wipe his eyes, as tears of joy and happiness began to dampen his beard. 

The Group Session for Tuesday evening began about 8 PM. Richard welcomed the group of ten who sat around the Blake living room. Cliff sat on the couch with his arm elevated, obviously attracting quite a good deal of attention. Cliff started the session, “Not gonna stand up, I just had about a dozen stitches put in my arm by um Dr. B. – who is sitting next to me. He is not only our mate in these evening sessions, he is a damn fine physician. I may be embarrassing him, but he needs to hear this from me. Thank you, Doctor Blake.” Everyone stood up and clapped and walked to Lucien and hugged him, shook his hand. 

Richard had them all sit back down and then asked his Major, “Tell us about this evening, Major.” “Um, Richard, I think you and Alice were partners in crime, I know she can do suturing, but she well let me suture Cliff’s arm. He was willing to let me try. I think I did a fine job. I guess in a week or so, we will know.” 

Alice walked into the session, walked up to Lucien, and put her hand on his shoulder. “Lucien, yes Richard and I were in cahoots, a quick decision so you could not overthink what you needed to do. You did an excellent job for Cliff. All of us in surgery this evening know that fact. Now I will leave you mates to your session.” 

At the end of the session, Richard called for Jean, Rose, Alice and Matthew to join them in the living room. “As we wrap up this session, I have announcements to make to all of you. James and Hugh were informed this afternoon that our POW Grant was renewed for the next two years. Yes, my good friends, we are in business for the next two years! And I want to acknowledge our lead writer and budget planner extraordinaire – Jean Blake. Our lead Ballarat physician – Alice Harvey. We also have a paper in press that Jean was the primary writer, once again. The paper details the development of our group sessions, held right here in this very living room. The authors on this paper are Jean, Mattie, Joseph, the Major, and yours truly. Tonight was going to be very special with those two pieces of news, but add in the return of Major Blake to the role of physician, well that puts tonight over the top for me,” Richard told the group. The Group Session broke out in applause, high fives all around, and Lucien stood up and walked to Jean, hugged her, “So damn proud of you, Jean Blake, so proud.” “Lucien Blake, welcome back,” Jean told him. 

After all of the members left, Jean, Alice, Matthew, Richard and Rose sat in the sunroom, began to chat and the telephone rang. James and Hugh were on the line and wanted to talk to all of them about the renewal and the third paper being accepted. Once those two items were discussed, congratulations given all around, Richard told James and Hugh that the Major had something to tell them. 

“Major, what do you want to tell us?” James asked, not anticipating the incredible news. “Um yes, well ah, James and Hugh, I wrote in my new journal this evening,” Lucien said stumbling through the sentence. James very quickly jumped into the conversation, “What did you say Major?” Hugh could be heard yelling, “Your new journal! Major – Awesome, fantastic!” Lucien got back in the conversation, “It is bloody well time, don’t you all think? How long has the journal been ready to hand to me?”

Alice entered the conversation, “Lucien, I bought it March 25. It has been waiting for you. I have been living in the same house with you since December 22. You are in our surgery nearly every day, and Lucien Blake, I am a good observer. You showed us – James, Hugh, Richard, Joseph, Aaron, me – that you have been gaining confidence each week. You have been so ready to be a physician for the last month or so, so close, and tonight, Richard and I nudged you just a little bit and you demonstrated to us and more importantly, to yourself, that you were ready. Congratulations again from the POW team.” 

Jean and Lucien sat in the sunroom, holding hands for another hour after everyone else went to bed. He barely said anything for the first ten minutes, and then Jean felt him get closer to her. “Jeannie, I turned a corner tonight, didn’t I?” “Yes you did my love. You had done so much preparation, studied Gus’ flash cards every day, talked with your POW mates when they were here, just needed a bit more belief in yourself. We all knew it, for weeks that you were slowly moving forward. And what about the grant renewal, Lucien, what do you think of that?” 

“Jean, I am so proud of you I could nearly explode. I recall our early conversations, about you wanting to make your own decisions, to be more than you were, finally had a chance to be your own independent woman. Ballarat be damned – Jean Blake has arrived, published author, successful grant writer, and my love. And I am home to see this, to be a part of this marvelous transformation. Will you stay with me? Love me?” Lucien reached for her as he finished his thoughts.

“Lucien Blake, I am yours, have been from the minute I –“ Jean did not finish her thoughts, as she began kissing him. They locked into a passionate kiss, finally each of them needed to breathe, and they slowly pulled apart. “Lucien, I think we need to walk to our bedroom, I feel someone getting very interested in you and me.” Lucien squirmed as Jean placed her hand on – “I was going to suggest the same thing, my love.” As they walked thorough their house, Lucien looked at Jean, grinned at her, “Will you slow waltz me to our bedroom? Can’t dance down the hallway like we did in our early courtship, bum knee now, you know. Not gonna let that bloody knee stop me from loving my gal once we get into our bed.” “Yes my handsome boy, let’s begin our next journey, together, tonight.”


	45. Twenty Six Months

Ch. 45 Twenty Six Months

Lucien Blake was still recovering, both physically and psychologically, from being abducted on September 26, 1962, drugged for months, until he and Robert Hannam started decreasing the brew he was on in late June/early July 1964. He was finally clear of all of the drugs in March of 1965. Memories were still being recalled, incidents he was involved in, what he did, to whom, and most of the time, there was very little warning that a difficult day was upon him. Richard and Matthew had drilled into him – give yourself the same amount of time you were away to judge your recovery. And that was 26 months.

Nearly four years after Lucien’s abduction from Ballarat, he was sitting in the sunroom, his legs stretched out and resting on a footstool, drinking a cup of tea with Jean. She was sitting next to him, reading a letter from Mattie detailing the antics of Blake and Jenny. Lucien was laughing at what the kids were up to, pleased that he would be was seeing them on the weekend of the 24th. Well, for that matter, the entire Melbourne crew will be here, he thought. “Lucien, we are approaching another anniversary of your disappearance. I am glad so many of our friends will be here to help us manage the weekend, process what happened to you, what happened to all of us,” Jean told him, reaching for his hand to hold, to kiss. “I think we are all still in recovery mode.” 

“Jean, each one of these anniversaries is different, each one somehow brings out new feelings, makes me anxious, but all of you help me keep my head held high, don’t let me even attempt to slide into my ‘dark hole.’ Come here, let me really kiss you, my love,” Lucien grinned at her, as he began a passionate kiss. “Well, you are um, do we need to plan a long afternoon nap today, my love?” “Yes, I do think we are on the same wavelength,” Lucien grinned at his love. “I am the luckiest man in the world, do you know that Jean Blake?” “Yes, I do believe you are, and I have you to take to my bed every night,” Jean told him, eyebrow lifted, with a silly look on her face. Lucien grinned at her, shook his head from side to side, and chuckled. “Yes you do, my love.”

When Jean headed to the surgery to help Alice for a couple of hours, Lucien closed his eyes, and thought about where he was now: settled back into the Blake house, his father’s house. It was populated with his Jeannie, good friends Matthew and Alice, Matthew’s niece Rose, and their boarder, Aaron Gage. There was a constant stream of colleagues from the POW group rotating through on a weekly basis as well as frequent visits from the Group Session men and women. All of these folks were a ‘family’ of sorts, just like Jean had created here in the Blake house so many years ago. We help make every day better, for each of us. Only make it with everyone’s help. We share in the happiness and the sadness. I am only alive because of this extended Blake family. I know this, I know this every day.

Now, some four years after his disappearance, Lucien Blake, M.D., was practicing medicine on a limited basis, helping Alice and Matthew on the more interesting and intriguing police cases and autopsies. As a matter of fact, he was in the morgue with Alice at least once a week and had informed Matthew and Alice that he did not want the Police Surgeon designation. That belonged to Alice. He was also reading Oriental Medicine with Paul and his father, spending two long weekends in Melbourne each month with Jean, as she continued to be heavily involved in the management of the POW grant, report writing, planning and drafting the grant renewals, preparing publications and presentations. 

While Jean was busy, Lucien spent time in Gus’ design workshop, learning from a master craftsman, developing a new brace for his knee, observing some of his Friday surgeries, working with Paul in the therapy tank, and reading the latest medical journals. And of course writing and sketching. He spent time each day, whether in Ballarat or Melbourne, writing. At first it was for Richard, but once he got into the habit, it became his writing, his need to write, seemed like the topic was never the same, but always five pages or more. The subject of his sketches ranged from what happened while he was away to landscapes around Jean’s Place to drawings of Jean. Once Jean was finished for the day, they spent their time together, appreciating the hours away from everyone, no interruptions, which seemed to be the norm at the Blake house. 

Several times a month, Jean and he spent a couple of days at Jean’s Place, along with a couple of police constables. Lucien wore a lightweight brace on his knee and used a trekking pole as they wandered around the area, enjoying the flora and fauna. Like years ago, Jean was taking pictures, Lucien was her scribe, and frequently interrupted her with a barrage of kisses. Spending evenings on the porch with Jean, sitting in the rocking chairs, eating meals outside, staying for hours in their bedroom, loving each other intensely, it was all just splendid in Lucien’s mind. 

A year ago, in September 1965, Aaron Gage moved to Ballarat and joined the Blake house. Aaron continued to struggle with the after effects, the trauma of his head injury suffered on December 5, 1964. The Melbourne hospital pace proved too difficult, too overwhelming for him. After extensive discussions with Richard and Alice, as well as Lucien and Jean, he asked if he could have his little second story bedroom on a permanent basis, not just weekends. Now, he had staff privileges at the Ballarat hospital, worked in the Blake Surgery two days a week, and had an official weekly appointment with Richard, participated in two group sessions a week in the Blake living room. He also talked each evening with Matthew, Lucien, Alice and Jean. In the morning, he swam laps at the local pool with members of the Blake household and the police officers. The remainder of his time he spent time at Jean’s place, working on the cabin, building lean-to-covers over the picnic tables, removing the old dunny with the help of his group session mates, putting in landscaping and fences - whatever tasks let him be outside and busy. Over the last year, he was looking more robust, had gained weight, his emotional state was more even, and on occasion he traveled to Melbourne with Jean and Lucien. He sold most of his furniture from his apartment and stored his additional gear in a storage facility in Ballarat. 

In mid-September 1966, Aaron went to pay the rent on his locker for the next three months. The owner mentioned that on October 1, he was going to auction off a block of lockers because the renters had not paid their fees for at least six months. He handed Aaron a flyer and asked him if he was interested in buying some of the contents, sight unseen of course. Aaron took several flyers and told him he would post them at the swimming pool, since he was there most mornings.

As Aaron walked to his car, he glanced at the list and spotted a locker with the initials RH and GL. As he hurriedly drove to the police station, he was very hopeful that Matthew, maybe Bill, would be there. As he walked into the entry way, he asked, “Peter, I need to see Matthew or Bill. It is very important. Are either of them here?” “Dr. Gage, try the office,” Peter suggested. “Matthew, look at this. I was just at my storage locker. And look at this right here, as he pointed with his index finger to the ‘RH GL’ initials. I think this might be important, don’t you?” Aaron excitedly told Bill, Peter and Matthew. 

Matthew looked at him, shook his hand, and said with a smile, “Never know what random item will give us our breakthrough, do we? Aaron, thank you, for bringing this to our attention. Bill and Peter, see if the owner will let you see the names, and if – “ “Yes Boss, I know exactly who we are looking for and if these are Hannam and Linemann, I will talk the owner into letting us take the stuff with us. Or threaten him with a search warrant,” Bill laid out his plan very quickly. 

Matthew called Blake and told him what Aaron had discovered. “Matthew, do you mean they left their gear here in Ballarat, since before I was abducted? Bloody Hell! I will be there and I will bring both Jean and Alice. In less than two hours, the contents of the joint Hannam and Linemann locker were in the police station, and Lucien, Jean, Alice, Aaron and Rose along with the police officers were unpacking it, organizing it, and inventorying it. 

As they began to analyze the contents, Alice posed some interesting questions. “If Linemann has been deceased since September 26, 1962, and Robert Hannam was away from 1962 until he died on December 15, 1964, who paid the rental fees? Before and after Hannam died?” Bill quickly answered her. “Dr. Harvey, after talking with the owner of the storage facility and looking at his ledgers, we determined that Linemann and Hannam each paid the rental fees for one year. That covered the rental until September, 1964. Then one Boris Green paid them until September 1965. No payment since then was received, so their locker was one year in arears, since it is now September 1966,” Bill finished his explanation, grinning at the group. “Bill Hobart, excellent work!” Lucien told him, as he reached out to shake his hand. 

“Do you mean Green was in Ballarat as well as Bendigo on his trip back here in September 1964? He slipped in and out of country without triggering any alerts, didn’t he?” Aaron quickly stated. “And when he returned to Cambodia, he tried his best to kill me, Robert hid me, got me back here um in November. The rest we pretty well know,” Lucien said, shaking his head. “Find any drugs in their locker?” Alice asked. “No, nothing like that at all, Alice,” Matthew told her.

“So this seems to be mainly civilian clothing, family items, like they were coming back, and perhaps as soon as September 1964,” Bill stated. “Wait, wait, Bill. Here are the plans for Lucien’s abduction, and it most certainly involved Linemann, Hannam, and Boris Green. Here is a map of the Ballarat-Bendigo area, even had the hospital, the Blake house and the police station clearly marked. There are no pistols, knives, any instrument for killing or maiming an individual. For both of the men, there were army documents, but not any additional passports, army medals, certificates like Lucien and Hannam had in their duffel bags that we discovered in the nasty place they were living in Melbourne,” Jean told the group. 

Matthew continued describing the locker contents. “Robert Hannam had a journal, the last entry was September 19, 1962. He wrote of his ambivalence with the abduction plans, how he swung between doing it as an order from Green and going along to help, perhaps protect you, Lucien. He wrote of trying to figure out a way to protect both Lucien and himself, get the two of you away from Green as soon as he could, not get either one of you killed in the process.” “And he was successful, but I wish he had not taken so Bloody long getting me away from that lunatic,” Lucien said, very quickly. 

“We need to pull the small notebooks that Hannam and I used, compare any notes that might connect with his notebook we just found. Might be able to understand this whole bloody episode better. I don’t know, maybe,” Lucien explained, looking a bit stressed, confused with all of the new unexpected information.

“And, I have something to add to this discussion. If I have this figured out correctly, Boris Green only left Lucien and Robert alone for maybe two times, the only windows they could slip away from him. September 1963 and September 1964 when he was here in Ballarat and Bendigo. Lucien, do you think decreasing the drug protocol was started in late June of 1964 with that in mind? You and Hannam could work together to get away from him? If I remember right, you were in South Viet Nam in 1963 and Cambodia in September 1964,” Rose suggested. Alice looked at her and said, “Rose, you are one excellent investigator. Pulling together evidence trails that, I think, will be of much importance in Lucien’s disappearance.” 

“And I have something to add to this discussion. Lucien Blake, you did not stare at the floor one time, did not close us out, you participated in the discussion, helped us unpack this locker, and um well, I quite proud of your behavior this afternoon. It gives me hope that one day I will have my act together as well,” Aaron stated, and walked up to Lucien and gave him a big hug. “Thank you Aaron Gage. For once, I did behave myself, didn’t I?” 

On the actual date of September 26, but in the year of 1966, Lucien asked Matthew and Bill to take him to the place where they found his car. He had visited the location of Linemann’s murder and Henderson’s cabin, and finally felt like he wanted to see more, that he could handle it. Once they had spent some time looking around the road, he asked to be taken to the Bendigo Storage facility that Green had used for his gear. He was getting a bit anxious, but told them he would be alright. 

“So Doc, what have you learned about these places? How has this helped you understand what happened?” Bill asked him. Lucien looked at him, chuckled, and said, “You, my friend, have been around Richard, Gus and Alice way too long. That is what they would ask me. Make me write about. So my answers, I did not know where the Holden was parked, never got that far, I was already in the field walking. But the Bendigo area, well, yes, I remember being driven through town, with Green pushing a sharp pointed knife in my ribs, wondering just how far he would – “ Matthew looked at Blake and told him, “You know Alice went back to your clothing we found in Henderson’s cabin to check if the knife memory was accurate. You were spot on. There was your blood on the suit coat, waistcoat, dress shirt and singlet. Of course, more on the singlet. He really disliked you from the beginning of this episode.” “Yes, he did.”

Before they returned Lucien to the Blake house, Bill drove to Jean’s Place. Many of the group session folks were waiting for him, as well as Jean, Alice, Aaron, and Rose. As Lucien stepped out of the car, the smell of chook and vegs grilling over the firepit made him quite hungry. “I did not know this was part of my road trip. Thank you all. Very nice indeed,” Lucien told the group, as he looked for Jean to hold. “Lots more food inside, my love. Also drinks in the cooler,” Jean told him. 

After a couple of hours of conversation, most of the group left for town. But Jean looked at Lucien, smiled at him, and said, “You are here tonight, with me. Peter and Bill will stay with us, return us in the morning. I brought each of us an overnight bag. You are mine this evening, all of you.” “Jean, um, why not? Cannot keep dwelling on the negatives, the horror of this day, can I? Need to celebrate that I am home, with you.” 

Their evening at Jean’s Place was spent sitting outside until the sun went down, then moving inside and talking about his road trip with Bill and Matthew, and finally Lucien smiled at Jean, kissed her and said, “Yes, my lady, you need to go to bed with me. I want you, I need to be loved tonight by you.” As they walked into their bedroom, Lucien noticed that the room was decorated with ‘Welcome Home’ ribbons, a couple of candles were burning, and several bouquets of flowers decorated the room. Jean also had a box of their favorite chocolatey nutty sweet treats that they both liked. Lucien looked at his love, smiled, and said, “Just how long as this been planned, Mrs. Blake?” “For weeks, Dr. Blake. Care to join me? You may not get much sleep this night!”

“Well, my love, you surprised me this evening, but I have been thinking about this day as well. You know I have been spending quite a bit of time in Gus’ design workshop, right? My project has been to design a brace for my knee that I um will yes let me be on top during our sexual escapades. And I have it with me tonight. You see Matthew and I brought the brace here several days ago. He overheard your plans for tonight and told me about them. Will you um?” Lucien stopped talking. Jean looked at him, giggled, and said, “Lucien Blake, you get so tongue tied at times, don’t you? Of course you can be on top, as long as I get reciprocal rights and privileges! So let’s see the new brace, is it soft?” Lucien placed it on his bad left knee and showed Jean. As she felt it on his leg, he began stroking her back, nibbling on her neck, and finally said, “Mrs. Blake, ready for me, my love?” “Yes, of course, Dr. Blake, of course. Any time, you know that.” 

December 4, 1966 was another anniversary – Major Lucien Blake was transported to James Cornelius’ A&E late on the evening of December 4, 1964. He arrived looking like a homeless person, which at the time he was, complete with long hair and beard, exhibiting memory loss, a serious knee injury, a healing skull fracture and was on a drug cocktail of unknown composition. As they were each December 4 th, members of his medical team were concerned about the anniversary, how their Major would deal with it. They would be spending the weekend in Ballarat at the Blake house. Richard McCoy had assigned specific times for each of them to be with Lucien, but his best laid plans fell apart fairly quickly as they all wanted to spend the entire weekend, as well as the days before and after, with Jean and Lucien.

Gus and Richard drove to Jean’s Place on Friday evening December 2. They discovered Jean, Lucien, and Aaron already there. Bill and Peter had the firepit going, food was grilling, and it was simple to add their fish to the well prepared grill. “How are you doing, Lucien? What are you thinking about tonight?” Richard asked his Major. “Richard, I have been writing, sketching, walking, talking to Jean and Aaron, and thanking my lucky stars it is 1966 and not two years ago. I was so bloody desperate then, should have died on the street. Taking advantage of the fact I am alive, with my best girl, good friends,” Lucien told him, grinning, reaching for Jean’s hand to hold. 

“And how are you Aaron? This is an anniversary for you as well. You continue to look more robust, seem less anxiety ridden. Is that a fair assessment?” Gus asked. “Gus, I need to be here, under Alice and Richard’s care, with Jean, Lucien and Matthew. Staying busy, being outside, and have a limited practice. Good decision on my part,” Aaron told him. “How is your neck? Shoulders? Can I feel? I will be careful, my friend,” Gus asked. As Gus placed his big hands on Aaron’s neck, Aaron told him, “Gus, I am hopeful I do not tighten up like last year. Took months to unwind, and begin to understand the residual issues associated with my skull fracture.” “Aaron, your neck feels good tonight. Let us help you this weekend if you sense trouble brewing, alright?”

The Blake house on Saturday and Sunday had an influx of visitors, all wanting to be with Lucien and Aaron. Both of the physicians were struggling with physical and psychological issues from their serious skull fracture. The atmosphere at the house and the care they were continuing to receive was showing benefits. James, Hugh, Joseph and his family as well as Paul, Carol and Diane drove up for the weekend. The Group Session participants were in and out of the house as well as Jean’s Place. Good food, good conversation, and a volleyball net out in the back yard kept the group entertained. 

On Monday December 5, at 6:30 AM, Lucien kissed Jean and woke her up. “Lucien, what on earth are you doing? I was sleeping, I was having a quite pleasant dream, and I was very content, lying in your arms, feeling so loved by you,” Jean told him, with an eyebrow dancing at him. He grinned back and looked at her again, kissed her and said, “Wanted to connect with my gal, once again, like we did a couple of years ago. I know we did not link up like this morning, but we did find each other, didn’t we love?” “Yes we did, my handsome boy. Well, you were not quite so handsome then, with your long beard, longer hair but your eyes, yes those twinkling, mischievous blue eyes, that I so often drown in. I love you. I know you know that but I just wanted to tell you again and again.” They began to get serious about their love making when two knocks on the door stopped them. 

“Yes, who is it?” “Lou and Lou, Jean, it is me. Can I come in?” “Yes Jenny, you most certainly can,” Jean told her. “Can’t open the door. Help me, please.” Jean put on a robe, threw Lucien his sleeping shorts, and walked to the door. “Come on in Jenny. Want to get in our bed?” “Yes, please, Auntie Jean.” Once the three of them were settled, Jenny smiled at Lucien and told him, “I luv you, Lou Lou.” She cuddled into his chest and started sucking her thumb, holding onto his hand. 

Another knock, and a request, this time from Joseph. “We have lost a daughter. Is she here?” “Yes, she is Joseph. Come on in.” Joseph entered the room, walked to Lucien’s side of the bed, sat on the edge of it and held his hand. Lucien stared at him, “Um, Joseph, my hand?” “I remember holding your hand two years ago, most of the night, reading to you, and then when you finally were awake, you just looked at me, like I was from another planet. And now two years later, my daughter is in your arms, you and Jean are home, in your bed, and um we need to put that –“ Joseph said as he was pointing. “Taken care of Joseph. Thank you for spotting it. Is Blake on his way?” Jean quickly said. “Of course. He ran into Gus first and they are talking about their project for the day. I am certain he is on his way.” 

Ten minutes later, Jean and Lucien’s large bedroom was populated with several of the Blake family weekend guests, who were sitting on the couch, sitting in the chairs as well as in Lucien’s recliner, talking, drinking tea. Alice and Matthew joined them and then Blake dashed in. “Can I get in bed with you Auntie Jean?” “Of course, why not? We are all so glad your Uncle Lucien is back with all of us, aren’t we?” “Yes, we are. And he is fun again, not sad like before.” 

Rose walked in with a tray of champagne-filled glasses, and Aaron clicked on one of the glasses, “Hear hear! A toast to our friends and colleagues. In celebration of Dr. Lucien Blake’s return and to the friends who stayed up all night with him.” James spoke up, and one more toast, “To our friend Dr. Aaron Gage, who is a survivor, a real trooper, and our friend. We are glad you are a part of the Blake Family. I for one am so delighted you are feeling better and keeping an eye on these two - Jean and Lucien.”

One evening, in mid-December, Jean and Alice walked into the sunroom looking for Matthew and Lucien. Jean asked if either one wanted something to drink. Lucien smiled at his Jeannie, and said, “Would you put the kettle on, love?” “You two got your hair cut today, didn’t you? Matthew, yours still has very little grey in it, but Lucien, my goodness, you are really getting more grey in it, but so curly, and I like it combed or just, what do you call it, yes, wild. Guess I finally am becoming used to your wild and crazy look. I would never have predicted that,” Jean told him. “What about my beard? Got it trimmed as well.” “I recall the salt and pepper beard that I fell in love with. But the grey beard looks very distinguished. I will take you either way, as long as you love me, Lucien Blake.” “You know I do, Mrs. Blake. Show you every night, don’t I?” Lucien told her, with his eyebrows dancing. 

Alice brought in an envelope for Matthew and Lucien to share. “When I was in town this afternoon, I stopped by the new bookshop and found this. I think you two do not have this one. Is that correct?” Matthew opened the package and found another comic book. The joint collection that he started as a gag gift from Santa for Lucien in December 1964 was slowly growing in size, with some fairly expensive editions from their childhood as part of the assortment. “We do not have this one. Blake look at it. Remember this one?” Matthew asked his friend. 

“Matthew, um yes, this is the last one we shared as boys, just before my Mother died and I was banished. My father told me I could not take any of my comic books, not serious enough for boarding school. So I had to leave them all with you. I had to ‘Do My Best’ and stay away from here, stay away from you, not come back for weeks and weeks,” Lucien spit out the memory, shaking his head. “Lucien, I did not know that. Do you want me to take it back?” Alice asked her colleague. 

Jean answered for Lucien, “No, Alice, the comic book stays here, added to the set they have, and Lucien and I will talk about this. He needs to write in his journal, talk to Richard. We confront this head on. Agreed Lucien Blake?” “Yes, of course, you are right, Jean,” Lucien told her, reaching for her hand to kiss. “Sorry Alice. Nothing you did. Fathers never leave us, do they?” 

“On another topic, Matthew did I see you and Lucien at the Holden Dealership this afternoon?” Alice asked. Matthew and Lucien looked at each other, like they had been caught, red handed. “How did she know that Blake? We were so bloody careful!” Matthew whispered to his good friend. Jean entered the conversation, looked at Lucien, and said, “Lucien Blake, do I need to check the driveway? Is our Holden still parked there?” Jean asked him, eyebrow raised. “I did not mean to tattle, but I did see you both,” Alice said, looking at both Matthew and Lucien. 

“Um, well, yes, neither one of you needs to get upset. Yes, Matthew and I were at the dealership, looking at a 1966 Holden, duo tone blue, with Powerglide automatic transmission. You see it is just about to become an ‘old’ model – you know, since 1967 is just a few days away. Had it priced very competitively.” Lucien told the gals as much as he dared. Jean, looked at him, eyes snapping, “And, what happened?” Lucien and Matthew just stared at each other. Neither one said a word. “Have you both lost your voices?” Jean asked, looking at them. 

Aaron walked into the sunroom and could sense something was going on between the four of them. Jean asked, “Aaron, how many cars are in the driveway?” “Um Alice and Jean, there are three, mine and your Holden and a police cruiser. Rose is not home yet. Why do you ask?” “What color is the Holden?” “Well, you know, it is a duo tone brown, just like it was this morning, Jean.” 

What Alice and Jean did not know was this – Lucien had placed a ‘hold’ on the car, called Charlie and Danny to withdraw 90% of the money from his bank account in Melbourne and give it to Hugh who was coming on Wednesday for surgery hours. Matthew went to his bank in Ballarat and withdrew an equal amount. They would be the proud owners of a new 1966 Holden by Wednesday afternoon. Hugh was met at the railway depot, and he accompanied them to the Holden dealership. “I can see why you wanted to buy this car. It is a beauty. When do I get to drive it?”

Once they had taken delivery of the car, Lucien and Matthew flipped a coin to see who would drive it to the Blake house and who would drive the older Holden. Of course they were accompanied by two police cruisers. Bill and Peter wondered how much trouble the two friends would be in after this unplanned purchase. After Lucien drove the new car and parked it in the driveway, Matthew, Peter and Bill parked nearby. Bill entered the house and announced their arrival. Jean and Alice walked outside, looked at two Holden automobiles parked in the driveway, and Jean asked, “Who owns this very handsome, sharp looking, blue, duo tone Holden?” Lucien and Matthew answered in unison, “We do!” Jean and Alice just looked at each other. “And yes, Jean, we know it does not get very good mileage. But, isn’t it a beauty?! Want to take a ride with me?” Lucien asked, smiling, eyebrows dancing. “Yes, of course, I do,” Jean told him, smiling, kissing his hands. Alice walked up to the car and put her hand around Matthew’s waist, “I think we need a very large, enormous red bow on the car for Christmas. Who is going to do that?” Hugh piped up, “I will, if I can get Lucien or Matthew to let me drive their car!”

December 25, 1966 was the third Christmas day that Lucien Blake had spent in Ballarat with his love and his extended family since his return. Just two years ago, they did their vow renewal thingy, had a Santa Claus visit, ate entirely too much food, and talked into the wee hours of the night. Once again this season, there were three overly decorated Christmas trees and mistletoe hanging at strategic places in the house. Aaron’s decorating skill was highly sought after; Allie, Ella and Kate supplied the baked goods for his orders. The ladies lost track of how many decorated biscuits and cakes they prepared and sold. 

Of course, Jean and Lucien had early morning visitors as well as afternoon nap visitors to contend with. Both Blake and Jenny were delightful kids, so at ease with the adults who populated the Blake house. Presents were in abundance once again, a Santa Claus visit was mandatory for the two little kids as well as the big kid, and food seemed to be in every room. The back yard was populated with yet another new lounge and everyone was in good humor.

Little Blake was in the bedroom with Jean helping her put away some ironing. When she pulled one of the drawers open, he spotted the large number of ‘Blake’ monogramed handkerchiefs. “Auntie Jean, I remember all of those. All you and Uncle Lucien did was cry, and cry some more, wipe tears from each other, and I gave Uncle Matthew your new rings,” Blake told her. “Yes, Blake, we did shed a few tears that day, didn’t we?” Lucien had joined the conversation. “You know, I love your Auntie Jean. So glad to be back, with her, seeing all of you, getting to watch you grow up. Come here, Master Blake, let me hug you.” “Me too, me too,” Jenny said as she walked into the room, headed towards Jean. Joseph was right behind her, smiling at his children and his very good friends. “You need a hug as well, Joseph?” Jean asked him. “Yes, I do. So glad we are all together, I need you both.” 

February 1967 was on the ‘timeline’ that both Richard and Matthew had established for Lucien. Blake was away from Ballarat for 26 months and now had been back for 26 months. Everyone was very hopeful his upward course of improvement would continue. However, a multitude of holes and craters remained in his recall of what happened to him. 

Matthew, Bill, Rose, Jean, Alice, Aaron and Lucien continued to sift through the evidence that was stored in Cec’s Club, the Old Richard’s mine and the Ballarat storage locker of Hannam and Linemann. Some days nothing new was discovered but other times, the time line was expanded with additional information. When Rose suggested a different approach, a major breakthrough occurred concerning the middle of Lucien’s disappearance. Instead of focusing on newspaper articles, they concentrated on the news pictures, to see if they could recognize either Hannam or Lucien. 

On this Thursday afternoon, the group assembled in the Blake dining room, and began adding leaves to the table so they could stretch it as long as possible. Then they covered the table with pictures and more pictures. Aaron was holding his Surgery hours and just told his last patient of the day goodbye. Jean was straightening up the surgery, setting it for Friday’s first patient. She was working on the billing for this last patient. Aaron updated all of the medical records so he would be free of the paperwork until Tuesday. Three day weeks were his preferred life style now. 

Rose put out a set of photographs from South Viet Nam and Cambodia, many were of street scenes, with fighting, even rioting, people injured. Each photograph was carefully scanned with a magnifying glass. They began to construct a pile of pictures of a man, in a slouch hat, in the midst of all of the chaos. Then Matthew spotted a couple of images of a bearded man attending to individuals who were injured. That initiated another stack of photographs. 

Other pictures captured both the man wearing the slouch hat as well as the taller man with the beard in the same frame. Those were taken in Manila, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Some of the accompanying text talked of uprisings, demonstrations, riots, and even the disappearance of several unnamed individuals. Additional images showed a bearded man attending to children in a New Zealand orphanage. 

As they discussed these findings, Matthew posed some interesting questions. “Rose, do you think these pictures should have been placed in a newspaper? What if we noticed Lucien in one of the pictures years ago and followed up on it?” Alice developed another intriguing set of questions, “Do you think Boris Green became angry because of these pictures appearing in the paper? Lucien, were you and Hannam in any of the Cambodian papers, during the time in September 1964 that he was away? Did he discover that picture when he returned? Can you remember?” 

“Alice, Alice, yes, ah that is um well, um, ah –“ Lucien stumbled around with his sentence, started gasping for air, tears formed in his eyes, held his head with his hands. Both Matthew and Bill grabbed onto him. “Blake, Blake, you listen up. Look at me right now! Do you hear me?” Matthew bellowed at him. Lucien looked at his good friend, took a deep breath, grimaced as he said, “I hear you loud and clear. That is what um happened. Yes, it is. Bloody Hell! My head and neck hurt so bad. I may upchuck, trying not to do it, Jean will get angry if I do.” Lucien started sobbing, then hiccoughing, and breathing erratically. Rose high tailed it to the kitchen for a basin and towel in case Lucien could not control the impulse. She also grabbed some cold packs from the freezer.

Aaron and Jean heard Matthew yelling at Lucien and they left the surgery and nearly ran down the hallway. When Lucien saw Jean, he reached for her hands, gripped them tightly and looked his love in the eyes. As Jean wiped tears from his face, Lucien said, “Jean, I did not crawl into my dark hole. I did not. I am not going to. I am not. Matthew, thank you for helping me. Please do not let me slip away from you,” Lucien told the group. 

Aaron took the cold packs from Rose and quickly had Blake’s neck and shoulders packed. He then stood behind him, hugging his shoulders, not saying a word, just holding on to him. “Aaron, I feel better now, I think.” “You are not as green as earlier and that is promising. We will get some more cold packs on your neck and base of your skull. That should help.” 

Alice picked up the telephone, called Richard’s office and was immediately connected with her colleague. She briefly sketched out what happened with Lucien and then handed the telephone to him. “For you, Lucien.” “Um Yes, Dr. Lucien Blake here. Is this Richard?”

Once he hung up the telephone, Lucien looked at the group, and said, “We will have several more for dinner this evening. Richard, Joseph and Gus are coming. Maybe James. Charlie is driving them. Need to keep my neck packed, keep talking to any of you, about anything. Don’t let me shut down, please.” Alice looked at her colleague and simply stated, “Lucien, remember, we are Blake Family Strong and we help each other, make every day easier than it would have been. Now, let’s get you in the sunroom, put the kettle on, and Jean and I will chat with you.” 

After 30 minutes, Rose and Aaron took over talking with Lucien, then Bill and Matthew rotated in. They kept him occupied, focused on a multitude of topics. Before Jean realized it, she heard a commotion at the front of the house. Charlie opened the front door, yelled that they were coming into the house. On the trip to Ballarat, they divided up their tasks. Richard and James would help their Major, Gus would talk with Aaron, and Joseph would attend to Jean. 

James and Richard made a bee line to the sunroom where Lucien was sitting, talking to Peter and Alice. “Major, let’s talk, unpack the new memories. Let me look at you,” Richard told him. “Richard, James, my um I well Alice yes started opening um what? and the um memories gushed out, like they did when I was first in hospital. Green saw our picture in the newspaper, and he went Bloody ballistic. Don’t know how much about the drug protocol he knew, but the picture, it well, my head and neck still hurt so bad, pounding awful headache, like years ago. But, yes I um have not crawled into my dark hole. Trying so hard not to do that. Thank you for coming,” Lucien told them, not sobbing, but tears were flowing once again. James reached for his Major and held him, gave him a handkerchief. While James was comforting Lucien, Alice and Richard were talking about Lucien’s medical condition.

Joseph sought out Jean and took her to the living room to help her continue to decompress. “Joseph, we all thought these episodes were a thing of the past, but today just showed us, that it may not be the case. His head is hurting so bad, like when he was first injured. Aaron was able to help him initially, but even with medication, he is still very fretful, stressed, and has threatened to upchuck several times,” Jean told him. “And Jean, we are here to help and we will. Let’s you and me take a walk outside, help you unwind. Alright?” Joseph told her, as he gave her a hug, kissed her cheek. “But Joseph, he did react differently this time. He did not crawl into the dark recesses of his mind, like he was so prone to do at first. He keep talking to us, that is good, right?” “Jean, that is the best news I have heard today about the Major. Yes it is. How is your neck?” “Joseph, I have not even thought about it, been concentrating on Lucien.”

Gus went immediately to Aaron and asked him. “Aaron, my boy, talk with me, what is your take on this?” “Gus, this was so strange. Rose had an idea that we all thought would help us figure out the middle section of Lucien’s disappearance. My goodness, a gaping hole tore open in his memories, like a dam broke, with very little new information from him, but much intense gut wrenching emotion. He knows that a picture in the Cambodian press in September 1964, while Green was away, was the trigger. He used his hands on Lucien’s neck and skull like he did with me. Blake’s neck is tight, his head is pounding despite the medication Alice gave him,” Aaron explained. “And you, my friend?” 

“Gus, um, I could use your hands on my neck, if you would please. Flashbacks started very quickly for me, but Rose and I packed Lucien’s neck, talked with him, and I think that has helped walk me back from the edge. At least I hope so. I am going to go to Group Session tonight with Joseph, write about it, I have my safety net here in the Blake House. I will be alright, I will,” Aaron told his friend, as relaxed into the massage that Gus was giving his neck and shoulders. “See, Aaron, I am not going to hurt you,” Gus told him, as Aaron let out a huge sigh of relief. “No, not this time, Gus.” 

Very quickly it was 8 PM and Joseph’s group session mates started arriving at the Blake house. Aaron started the group with a very general report on what happened to Lucien. Cliff immediately asked, “Aaron, how are you? Tell us. We know how this could be so hard on you.” “I am doing pretty well. Surprised myself so far. I think the dozens of sessions we have had here has given me more resilience than I had before. Thank you, all of you.” 

Arnie looked at Joseph and asked him the same question, “How are you?” “Mates, I am doing alright. I am here for you tonight. Richard, Alice, Gus, and James are working with the Major. I will talk with him after we wrap up our work. Jean is doing better as well. Let’s help each other by talking. Who will start us off?” Joseph told them.

While the Group Session was underway, Gus, Richard, and James had Lucien in the surgery checking him over, massaging his neck and shoulders, keeping him talking with them. Alice was with them, writing up her notes on the initial incident, Matthew and Aaron’s handling of Lucien, and suggestions for his follow-up care. Jean had updated the timeline on the blackboard, and Rose was working with the photographs from the time frame that Green was away from both Hannam and Lucien. Much to her surprise there were several photographs of the two of them, in a village, not in a city, and Lucien had his long hair and beard and Hannam had his slouch hat on. They were both helping the villagers, with medical care as well as repairing some of the housing. And they were from the time frame that Green was in Ballarat and Bendigo in September 1964.

After the session was over and the participants left for home, Joseph and Aaron joined everyone sitting in the sunroom. “Major, how are you doing now?” Joseph asked. “Bloody head is still pounding but my neck and shoulders are no longer tight and tension filled like earlier. I am not going to upchuck, so don’t concern yourself about that,” Lucien said, holding Jean’s hand and kissing it several times. Aaron walked up to Blake and told him, “Can I tell you about what happened to me this afternoon, Dr. Blake?” “Yes, Aaron, tell me.” “I did not have a flashback, I behaved myself. Helping you was very important for me. My head does not hurt, my neck is normal. So different than just a few months ago. All of you have made a difference in my life. Yes, we are Blake family strong,” he said, finishing with a grin, hugging Lucien, and whispering in his ear. Blake grinned at him. 

“We are all inviting ourselves to stay the night. And Jean, can we eat breakfast with you good people before we leave by 7 in the morning? We will need to check the Major over before we leave, so you will both be up early,” James told them. “Of course, James. That is the least the Blake household can do for all of you. Thank you for dropping everything and coming to help Lucien,” Jean told the group of physicians and dear friends. 

Richard looked at both Jean and Lucien. “I am going to suggest the obvious. You two need ‘Couple Time’ and it should start right now. If you need anything, let any of us know. Good night.” Jean and Lucien walked from the sunroom to their bedroom, and Lucien reached for Jean to hold, “I love you Jeannie Blake, I do.” “Lucien Blake, take your clothes off, and get into bed right now with me. We need to talk, hold each other, love each other, and love each other again. We are only whole when we are together.” “Never better said, my gorgeous girl.” 

 

Thank you for reading my story. I appreciate the support you have shown me.


End file.
